LeT, JeM get financial, military support from ISI: Headley

Terror outfits LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen are given "financial" and "military" support by the ISI, Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley said today as he made fresh revelations including about an aborted plan to target Indian defence scientists and famous Siddhivinayak temple here.
Deposing before a court here for the second day via video-link from the US, he said he was working for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI besides LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and that he knew about ISI official Brigadier Riyaz being the handler of LeT's top commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who was the mastermind of the November 26,2008 attacks in Mumbai.
"I was also working for ISI and had met many people from the Pakistan Army," he told the Special Judge G A Sanap during his deposition which will resume tomorrow.

He named three officials of the Pakistan army and ISI -- Colonel Shah, Lt Colonel Hamza and Major Samir Ali - besides retired army officer Abdul Rehman Pasha who was closely working with LeT and Al-Qaeda.
Headley said his assessment was that ISI and LeT were coordinating with each other.
"ISI provides financial, military and moral support to terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed, LeT and Hizbul Mujaideen," he said, even though he claimed that his opinion was formed on the basis of hearsay.

Headley, who had visited Mumbai seven times to scout for targets, revealed that plans to target Mumbai had started over a year before November 26, 2008 and that LeT initially wanted to attack a conference of Indian defence scientists at Taj Mahal Hotel for which even a dummy of the hotel was prepared.

But the plan to target scientists was dropped because of logistical reasons, like difficulty in smuggling in weapons and personal and lack of details about the schedule of the meet, he said.
He said he had also conducted a recce of the famous Siddhivinayak Temple and Naval air station.
He said the LeT group as a whole is responsible for the terror attacks in India and it can be speculated that all orders come from Lakhvi since he is its "top commander".
Headley, who had yesterday told the court that he was a "true follower" of LeT, today said ISI official Brigadier Riyaz was the handler of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. When shown a photograph of Lakhvi, the LeT operative identified him.

The LeT operative said he had been asked by Pakistan's ISI to recruit Indian armymen to spy for them.