India Probes Maoists' Foreign Links

NEW DELHI - As India's military, police, intelligence and civilian authorities combine resources to launch the nation's largest-ever offensive to root out Naxalite (communist) rebels, high-level government sources are pointing towards growing evidence of foreign support of the Maoist rebels.

Among the "outside forces" at work are remnants of the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), claim Indian security agencies. Contacts have told Asia Times Online that the LTTE, defeated in May by the Sri Lankan government after decades of struggle, is training the Maoists in the type of guerilla war tactics for which the LTTE were known, including surprise hit-and-run tactics and jungle warfare.