Indications that US terror suspect David Headley could have been a "double agent" for American agencies and Pakistan-based outfits have become clearer for Indian investigators with mounting evidence coming there way.
US District Judge William Duffey Jr of federal court in Atlanta sentenced Pakistan-origin Syed Haris Ahmed of Atlanta and Bangladesh-American Ehsanul Islam Sadequee of Roswell, Georgia, following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist has expressed serious concern over Indian investigating agencies not being allowed to interrogate Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley and sought to know what steps the government is taking into the matter.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has served legal notices on two Pakistani journalists for allegedly concocting a report about his secret meeting with United States Ambassador Cameron Munter, seeking Rs 10 crore as damages.
Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant Thadiyantavida Naseer, arrested recently for his alleged involvement in terror attacks in various parts of the country, was brought to Kozhikode from Bengaluru on Friday for questioning in connection with some cases in the state.Naseer and Shafaz were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles personnel and subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force on December 2. They were brought to Bengaluru where they were questioned about serial blasts.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley, charged with criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks, was produced before a Chicago court on Wednesday for his arraignment.Headley was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 3 from Chicago for planning terror attacks in India and Denmark. He was charged with planning terror attacks on the National Defence College in New Delhi and against a Danish newspaper.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley's cell-phone and his Chicago apartment were registered in the names of dead persons and investigations have found that he was leading a double life under directions from the Pakistan-based terror outfit, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Meanwhile, a team of officials from the FBI and the Justice Department headed to Pakistan from Delhi today to follow up on leads after briefing Indian authorities.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-origin American citizen charged with criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks, could face the 'maximum statutory penalty' of life imprisonment or death if convicted.This was contained in additional charges unsealed at a Chicago court, which is hearing the case against 49-year-old Headley, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October, along with LeT operative Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Coleman Headley was charged in a Chicago court with criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks that killed about 180 people, including many foreigners.
The botched terror alert by the Intelligence Bureau has once again put the spotlight on the need for a National Counter Terrorism Centre, which could act as a pool of information. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A team of the National Investigation Agency is probing whether Pakistani born American citizen and Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley visited Ajmer after the terror attack on Mumbai last year. Headley was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in early October from Chicago on charges of plotting terror attacks in India and Denmark. The NIA team has already searched a number of hotels in Pushkar, 15 kms from Ajmer, and taken possession of the records
A senior police official in Delhi, who is part of the anti-terror team, says there needs to be proactive operations and intelligence will be a crucial aspect. "We need to be constantly informed and upgraded about the new threats so that we can prepare ourselves accordingly," he said.
Terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, under investigation for possible links to 26/11, has categorically denied any involvement in the Mumbai attacks, his lawyer said on Monday and asserted that the Pakistani-Canadian "harbours no ill-will" against Indians.
Ajmal Kasab and nine other terrorists, who attacked Mumbai in November last year, were in constant touch with top Lashkar-e-Tayiba commanders in Pakistan during the strikes and received instructions to kill 'political leaders, foreigners and prominent personalities of India'. This was stated in the six-page chargesheet filed against the seven suspects in custody in Pakistan, including 'mastermind' of the attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The Union home ministry has started efforts to extradite Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Thadiyantavida Naseer, who was recently arrested by the Bangladesh police for planning a terror strike on the United States consulate in Dhaka. Naseer, who hails from Kerala, is considered to the 'commander' of the terror outfit's operations in south India.The Bangladesh police arrested Naseer, along with three of his accomplices, after being tipped off about his plans by the FBI.
The United States, which foiled a major terror plot by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to target India, has cited legal limitations in allowing Indian investigators to quiz arrested operatives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana. US National Security Adviser James Jones said President Barack Obama has shown personal interest in the Headley-Rana case and the matter was discussed during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
British authorities have claimed that they had tipped off the Americans about David Coleman Headley, arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for plotting attacks in India at the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's behest.
'I would not say I am 100 per cent sure. But I would also not rule out the possibility. This is an alternative theory which must be probed into,' says former Maharashtra Inspector General of Police S M Mushrif.
Vicky Nanjappa provides a glimpse of what Rahul Bhatt, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son and a 'witness' in the case against David Headley, revealed during questioning.
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington, the United States on Wednesday pressed Pakistan to act against perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, including Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, saying it wants to see results.
Pakistani authorities have declined India's request to send an inquiry commission to interrogate Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects charged with involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. India had sent an official letter expressing its willingness to allow a Pakistani commission to visit India to interview key officials linked with the probe into the 2008 Mumbai terror strike that killed 166 people.
Security expert B Raman deciphers the FBI affidavit against Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the Pakistan-origin Canadian arrested with David Headley for alleged Lashkar connections, and speculates who could be their handlers in Pakistan.
The Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing are downplaying their team's failure to meet David Headley, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative currently in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's custody.
An exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces was also reported from Keran sector.
Faislabad was one of the places where the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan set up a presence with the help of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Despite the offensive lunched by the Pakistani Army against it, the TTP continues to maintain its influence in the region, writes B Raman
Saeed has pledged to tour the country to mobilise the people against any decision by the government to reopen the supply routes, which were closed after a cross-border NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba's recent attempt to recruit an American national to carry out terrorist attacks against targets in India, including individuals and institutions, is yet another tangible manifestation of its global reach, now extending even into America, intelligence sources have said.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed has moved the high court in Lahore, asking it to stop Pakistani authorities from taking any "adverse action" against him under pressure from the United States and provide security to him as his life was "not safe" and any "mishap" could happen.
Faiza Outlaha, the estranged wife of arrested Pakistani American Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley, is likely to be questioned by the National Investigating Agency; and for that a request has been sent out to Morocco, the country where she resides.
The 26/11 Mumbai attack was carried out by highly-trained terrorists who were given training into paramilitary courses by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a United States attorney has said.
Days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation busted Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba's plot to carry out terrorist attack in India using an American national, the United States on Friday asked its citizens to stay alert during their travel to India.
Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and key plotter of 26/11 terror strikes Abu Jundal has threatened to go on a hunger strike if he is not taken out of solitary confinement. He made the threat in a letter submitted on Monday by authorities of Arthur Road jail, where he has been lodged, to the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act court, which is trying him in connection with the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.
A Pakistani anti-terror court conducting trial of seven suspects arrested for involvement in Mumbai attacks, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was directed on Tuesday by the Lahore High Court to take into account the views of the accused and redress their grievances.
Pakistan-based terror organisations Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen are planning to infiltrate terrorists into India to "create mayhem", said Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday, asserting that the country's security forces were, however, prepared to meet any external threat.
For bringing permanent Indo-Pak peace, the Obama administration must push Pakistan to hand over Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists responsible for the Mumbai attacks and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to India, a former top White House official has said.
A Pakistan court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Faheem Ansari, an alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case accused, for allegedly obtaining a Pakistani passport on fake documents.
The case of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is an "internal issue" and any evidence against him should be provided to Pakistan so that the courts can take action, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.
The United States has made it clear that a $10 million bounty on Hafiz Saeed was primarily due to his key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and said it wants to bring to book the Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder who has been brazenly flouting the justice system.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who has been named among the world's five most wanted terrorists by the United States, has re-emerged as a key player in Pakistan's jihadi politics after a brief setback in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan's promise to contain its activities has simply failed to affect the LeT at all as the group's activities have intensified, observes Amir Mir
