The recent attacks in Mumbai, India illustrate that Islamic terrorists will implement previous attack strategies that assault civilian soft targets. The relevance to educational facilities is drawn from the September 1st, 2004 massacre at the Beslan Russia elementary school that left 330 people (most of whom were children) dead.

Follow up:

The Mumbai attacks followed assault strategy that was disrupted in July 1993 in New York. This strategy was referred to as the “Landmarks” plot and called for several terrorist teams to assault prominent New York hotels. Terrorists conducted detailed target surveillance that included maps and notes on building design. The attackers intended to pose as hotel workers and utilize a stolen delivery vehicle in order to obtain easy access to the targets.

Thankfully the Landmarks pot was prevented due to the vigilance of US counterterrorism agents. A little more that 15 years later, the people of Mumbai were not so fortunate. Their fate mirrored that of the community of Beslan Russia when the attackers reportedly posed as repairman to unchallenged access to the school.

The Mumbia attack serves as a distressing reminder that terrorists will target civilians in order to gain maximum body count to gain maximum notoriety for their attacks.