FBI hands over evidence of attack to Pak, says report

MUMBAI TERROR STRIKES: INDIA ON THE OFFENSIVE

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US has given to Pakistan evidence of the involvement of elements based in that country in the Mumbai attacks, a media report has said. The evidence, it said, included the LeT handlers’ warning to the attackers about the arrival of Indian commandos while watching the mayhem live on TV.

Stating that evidence was growing to prove that the Mumbai strikes were orchestrated by militants based in Pakistan, The Sunday Times reported that Zarar Shah, a communications specialist of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), admitted under interrogation in Pakistan that he advised the terrorists by phone as the attacks unfolded.

The controllers in Pakistan watched live TV and warned the gunmen about the arrival of Indian commandos, the report said, citing evidence amassed by the FBI and handed over to the Pakistani government.

The FBI decoded Skype calls over the internet that were made between the gunmen in the two five-star hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai with their LeT controllers, identified as Shah, Abu Hamza and Abu Qafa, it said.

Talking in colloquial Punjabi, the controllers repeatedly told the attackers “Aag lagao” (light the fire), which has been interpreted in India as an order to maximise casualties, the paper said.

During the conversation, the men were told to kill all Israelis held captive in the Jewish hostel and to spare all Muslims, it said.

Shah revealed that the 10 assailants were trained in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and then travelled by boat from Karachi to Mumbai. He implicated several other Lashkar men.

According to the report, Islamabad rejected the alleged FBI evidence and dismissed India’s contention about close ties between the LeT and the ISI.