LeT made 2 attempts before 26/11 terror attacks: David Headley

The key witness in the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack case will continue his testimony before Mumbai special court tomorrow

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The deposition of David Coleman Headley, which began today before a special Mumbai court will continue tomorrow at 7 a.m.

During the deposition, he revealed the sequence of events and planning behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

In what is likely to be a shock to Indian intelligence agencies, David Headley said that the Lashkar-e-Taiba made two unsuccessful attempts to attack Mumbai. 

The first, he revealed, was in September 2008; it failed after the boat hit some rocks and all the weapons and explosives were lost, even though the terrorists survived, said Headley, who has turned approver in the case, given his role in the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008. 

A second attempt was made merely a month later using the same crew as the first attempt. He did not specify how or why the second one failed as well. 

Senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani told the media that Headley has told the special court that he acted on the advice of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed.

I was a true follower of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and knew of the group’s intention even before (my) first visit to India, Headley told the special court.

Headley, who is currently in the custody of the United States, agreed to turn approver for the Indian government in exchange for leniency.

A key witness to the criminal conspiracy that led to the killings of hundreds of people during the terror attack, Headley said he changed his name (from Daood Gilani to David Headley) so he could freely enter India with an American name, and that he visited Pakistan within a few weeks of changing his name.

He also identified his LeT handler as one Sajid Mir who, he said, was aware of his name change and wanted Headley to set up some business or office in India. “Sajid Mir (LeT) asked me to take general video of Mumbai city, Headley told the court,” Headley reportedly told the court. .

Headley confirmed that he visited India 8 times, of which he was in Mumbai 7 times; he has been accused to video taping key locations that were later used by the terrorists during the attacks.  He also told the court that seven of his India trips were directly from Pakistan while only one was from the United Arab Emirates.

“After 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks I visited India on 7th March 2009 from Lahore to Delhi,” he told the court.

He also revealed that all details except place of birth, date of birth, mother's nationality & passport number were incorrect in his visa application to enter India.