26/11 terrorists came from Karachi, says FBI

Reinforcing the Pakistan link to the Mumbai terror attack, the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) today told a special court that its probe had established that terrorists had come from Karachi to this city and the Global Positioning systems (GPS) recovered from them also indicated their plan to return to Pakistan.

In a crucial testimony at the trial of the lone surviving gunman Ajmal Kasab, an official of FBI, which is giving evidence for the first time in India in terror cases, said the terorists had used the GPS, a satellite navigation system to locate targets.

Deposing in person before Special Judge M L Tahilyani, a forensic expert of the FBI, whose identity has been kept secret, said one of the GPS devices allegedly recovered by the Mumbai police from slain terrorists also indicated that they had planned a return journey from Mumbai to Rawalpindi.

Two other GPS devices indicated plans for a return journey from Mumbai to Karachi but one indicated from Mumbai to Rawalpindi, the expert said. Kasab, a Pakistani national, sat smiling all through while the FBI official gave the evidence.

The planned return journey from Mumbai to Rawalpindi showed that the terrorists were given practical training in Pakistan to use GPS, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.

The forensic expert said that “Way Point” data retrieved from the GPS devices pointed to the route from Karachi to Mumbai and also positions between these two cities.

The FBI official said he had examined five GPS devices and a satellite phone which the Mumbai police had recovered from the terrorists.