India's Indira Gandhi International airport is on high alert after a terrorist threat claimed flights from Delhi to Afghanistan are being targeted by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists. The security crackdown comes after a phone call was made to Air India's Kolkata office on Saturday, in which the anonymous caller stated one of the carrier's planes would be hijacked. Following the phone call - in which the caller did not specify a particular flight - India's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security ordered airports across the country to strengthen security. Two Air India planes manoeuvre on the tarmac during heavy rains. The carrier received an anonymous phone call claiming it was being targeted by terrorists. Stock image used . Sky marshalls have now been deployed on flights in and out of the country, while there are increased security checks for those travelling. In addition, the number of police officers working outside the airport has increased, commandos are patrolling the airport and all flights to Afghanistan are being carefully monitored,The Times of India reported. In addition to the stringent security measures underway at the Dehli airport, Kolkata's NSC Bose International Airport is also on high alert given its proximity to the offices contacted by the anonymous caller. Security forces believe militants from Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) - who are currently embroiled in a bloody jihad across Syria and Iraq - are targeting the region, the International Business Times reported. Tensions over a possible terrorist attack in the region are currently on a knife edge after an Indian coast guard ship last week intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat suspected of carrying explosives in the Arabian Sea. The four occupants of the vessel blew it up after a nearly hour-long chase. The ministry said intelligence sources indicated that the boat from near Karachi, Pakistan was planning an unspecified illegal transaction. Indira Gandhi International airport (pictured) is now on high alert following the threat. Stock image used . Included among the airport's (pictured) new security measures are commando patrols and additional sky marshalls aboard flights . It said an aircraft and the coast guard ship intercepted the boat late Wednesday and demanded it stop to allow a search of its crew and cargo. The boat attempted to escape from Indian waters after warning shots were fired, it said. After nearly an hour, the people on the boat set it on fire, causing it to explode and sink near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary, about 365 kilometers (230 miles) west of the Indian town of Porbander. There was no sign of their bodies. 'The boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position, in early hours of January 1,' the statement said. Maroof Raza, strategic affairs editor of the TimesNow news channel, said the people on the vessel may have been planning a New Year's attack on an Indian navy base or a coastal town. Attackers in the 2008 terrorist assault on Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed, sailed to the Indian financial capital in a boat from Karachi.
India's airports increase security measures following hijacking threat .
Anonymous phone call said an Air India flight would be targeted .
Indira Gandhi International airport has increased its security systems .
There will be soldier patrols and additional sky marshalls aboard flights .
India's Indira Gandhi International airport is on high alert after a terrorist threat claimed flights from Delhi to Afghanistan are being targeted by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists. The security crackdown comes after a phone call was made to Air India's Kolkata office on Saturday, in which the anonymous caller stated one of the carrier's planes would be hijacked. Following the phone call - in which the caller did not specify a particular flight - India's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security ordered airports across the country to strengthen security. Two Air India planes manoeuvre on the tarmac during heavy rains. The carrier received an anonymous phone call claiming it was being targeted by terrorists. Stock image used . Sky marshalls have now been deployed on flights in and out of the country, while there are increased security checks for those travelling. In addition, the number of police officers working outside the airport has increased, commandos are patrolling the airport and all flights to Afghanistan are being carefully monitored,The Times of India reported. In addition to the stringent security measures underway at the Dehli airport, Kolkata's NSC Bose International Airport is also on high alert given its proximity to the offices contacted by the anonymous caller. Security forces believe militants from Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) - who are currently embroiled in a bloody jihad across Syria and Iraq - are targeting the region, the International Business Times reported. Tensions over a possible terrorist attack in the region are currently on a knife edge after an Indian coast guard ship last week intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat suspected of carrying explosives in the Arabian Sea. The four occupants of the vessel blew it up after a nearly hour-long chase. The ministry said intelligence sources indicated that the boat from near Karachi, Pakistan was planning an unspecified illegal transaction. Indira Gandhi International airport (pictured) is now on high alert following the threat. Stock image used . Included among the airport's (pictured) new security measures are commando patrols and additional sky marshalls aboard flights . It said an aircraft and the coast guard ship intercepted the boat late Wednesday and demanded it stop to allow a search of its crew and cargo. The boat attempted to escape from Indian waters after warning shots were fired, it said. After nearly an hour, the people on the boat set it on fire, causing it to explode and sink near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary, about 365 kilometers (230 miles) west of the Indian town of Porbander. There was no sign of their bodies. 'The boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position, in early hours of January 1,' the statement said. Maroof Raza, strategic affairs editor of the TimesNow news channel, said the people on the vessel may have been planning a New Year's attack on an Indian navy base or a coastal town. Attackers in the 2008 terrorist assault on Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed, sailed to the Indian financial capital in a boat from Karachi.
India's Indira Gandhi International airport is on one of the carrier's planes would be hijacked. security. Two Air India planes manoeuvre on the an anonymous phone call claiming it was being outside the airport has increased, commandos are security measures are commando patrols and additional sky marshalls aboard flights . It said