RAW tipped US about suspected Lashkar terrorist

India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, reportedly gave the tip-off that led to the arrest of Mohammed Aatique, 30, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the last week of June in the United States.

 

Aatique, identified by FBI officials as a Pakistani national, was among 11 men charged before a US grand jury on Saturday for conspiring with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to engage in jihad in Jammu and Kashmir, Chechnya, the Philippines and other areas.

 

According to reliable sources, Aatique, a resident of Philadelphia, is believed to be the ringleader of a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror cell. Though he held a work (H-1) visa, he was not known to have any stable income.

 

According to the sources, Indian and American

intelligence agencies have been cooperating unconventionally and sharing intelligence of various kinds over the last few months.

 

During one of those exchanges, the R&AW tipped off the FBI about Aatique, they said.

 

Of the 11 accused arrested in America for 'waging jihad against India and stockpiling weapons', two are Pakistanis.

 

The FBI's indictment claims that Aatique and the others were conspiring, held firearms in violation of the law, and were plotting against a friendly nation, India.

 

With inputs from PTI