India is the TARGET for 3 major terror groups: PC

Terming the two recent blasts in Mumbai and Delhi as a "blot" on the government's record, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that many homegrown terror modules are active across the country and several of them have acquired the capacity to make bombs.

"There are Indian modules too. They seem to have the capacity to attract radicalised youth to their fold. Many of these modules have acquired the capacity to make bombs," Chidambaram said while addressing the country's top police brass in Delhi.

These modules operate under the supervision of the Indian Mujahideen and the Students Islamic Movement of India, he said.

Reportage: Onkar Singh in New Delhi

He pointed out that most countries in the world, including the United States, have been hit by terror strikes. Majority of such terror attacks have taken place in Iraq, Afganistan and Pakistan in the recent past, he said.

The home minister said that the challenge of terrorism was "formidable" and no country was immune from it. "Afghanistan-Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism," he said.

"There are other Indian modules that espouse the cause of right-wing religious fundamentalism or separatism," he said while inaugurating the three-day annual conference of director generals of police and inspector generals of police organised by the Intelligence Bureau.

While referring to the Mumbai and Delhi blasts, Chidambaram said, "Two terrorist attacks in the space of two months are indeed blots on our record".

"Naturally, the central government and the security forces have been severely criticised. While we accept responsibility for the incidents and the legitimate criticism, it is our duty to set out the context in which such terrorist attacks take place," he said.

"The epicentre of terror is Afghanistan-Pakistan (region). Four out of five major terrorist groups are based in Pakistan and three of them -- Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen -- continue to target India," Chidambaram said.