General News
9/30/2009 6:24 AM ET
(RTTNews) -
An American media report, quoting former and current members of the Islamist terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and American intelligence officials, says the Pakistan-based militant group, which masterminded last November's Mumbai terror attacks, is "largely intact" and "determined to strike India again."
It says that despite pledges from the Pakistan government to crack down on militant outfits operating freely on its soil, and the arrest of a handful of operatives, LeT has not only survived but has flourished, since the November 26 Mumbai mayhem that killed 183 persons, including six Americans.
Lashkar's broader network, despite being dormant, can be mobilized quickly at short notice for elaborate attacks with relatively few resources, the report says, citing a dozen current and former Lashkar militants and intelligence officials from the United States, Europe, India and Pakistan.
Indian and Pakistani investigation reports, copies of which the U.S. daily claims to be possessing, offer a vivid picture of the operations of the Lashkar network across Pakistan. It included four houses and two training camps in the Karachi area used to prepare the Mumbai attacks.
Also, the report says Pakistan's own investigation into the Mumbai terror attacks concludes "beyond any reasonable doubt" that it is Pakistani militants from the LeT who carried out the carnage.
The senior American intelligence official interviewed by the U.S. daily, says despite official denials, Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), still maintains links with Lashkar, though the present level of co-operation remains unclear.
by RTT Staff Writer
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