01-16-2010, 05:24 AM
[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/LeT-gave-Headley-28000-for-Mumbai-terror-preparation/articleshow/5448151.cms"]LeT gave Headley $28,000 for Mumbai terror preparation[/url]
WASHINGTON: Guns, grenades, ammo, some dry fruits and bottled water, and the promise of paradise was all that offered to the ten young men who constituted the Pakistani cannon fodder for the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.
Expatriate Pakistanis who were part of the planning and surveillance cost a whole lot more ââ¬â in US dollars.
A Federal Grand Jury indictment unsealed in Chicago on Thursday reveals that the Lashkar-e-Taiba bankrolled 26/11 suspect Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley to the tune of $ 28,000, including $ 3000 in Indian currency, for his repeated trips to India for surveillance jobs. Gilani/Headleyââ¬â¢s LeT handlers also showed him a styrofoam mockup of the Taj Mahal hotel and provided him with a global positioning system device and taught him how to use it to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai, which Headley then used during his surveillance trips in April and July 2008, the charges state.
The new details are contained in the indictment formally charging Chicago businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with helping his army school mate Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley in the Mumbai terror attack and being part of a conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to attack a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.
Throwing fresh light on the case, the Grand Jury also indicted Ilyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani special forces commando who authorities allege is a terrorist leader in contact with al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, a ''retired'' major in the Pakistani military. Both are believed to be in Pakistan and it was not immediately clear how the U.S intends to proceed against them. Rana and Gilani are in federal custody in Chicago.
The indictment offers new details about the role that the two Pakistani army school buddies are alleged to have played in the 2008 terror assault in Mumbai that killed nearly 170 people and the financial transactions in Pakistan. It says Rana knew of the planned attacks as long ago as 2006, and that he allowed Headley to travel as a representative of his Chicago-based Immigration business when the latter went overseas to scout locations for the
attacks.
But Gilani/Headleyââ¬â¢s involvement in terrorism goes even further back to 2002 and 2003 when he allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by LeT. According to the charges, unnamed Lashkar Member A, who served as a ââ¬Åhandlerââ¬Â for Headley and another person associated with Lashkar, advised Headley in late 2005 that he would be traveling to India to perform surveillance of potential targets. Headley changed his given name of Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, enabling him ââ¬Åto present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani,ââ¬Â says the indictment.
In the spring of 2006, Lashkar Member A and a Lashkar associate discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities. In approximately June 2006, Headley allegedly traveled to Chicago, advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India, and obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities.
Rana allegedly directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headleyââ¬â¢s cover story of opening a First World office in Mumbai, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India. Headley misrepresented his birth name, his fatherââ¬â¢s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application, the indictment alleges.
The indictment says Headley made five extended trips to Mumbai ââ¬â in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 ââ¬â each time taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008, and using his association with First World as cover for his travels. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance photos and videos.
US authorities have refrained from naming LeT Member A and other Pakistani associates in the plot in order not to embarrass Islamabad, which is widely seen here as patron of terrorism in all but formal designation. Washington apparently needs Pakistani cooperation, and a toe-hold in Islamabad, to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism there. ana, 49, was indicted on three counts of providing material support to terrorism, including the Mumbai and Denmark plots. He remains held without bail and could face a life term if convicted. Headley, who is also 49, faces 12 counts, including six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India. The charges against him could carry the death penalty if he is convicted, but he has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest in Chicago in October in the hope of a reduced sentence.
WASHINGTON: Guns, grenades, ammo, some dry fruits and bottled water, and the promise of paradise was all that offered to the ten young men who constituted the Pakistani cannon fodder for the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.
Expatriate Pakistanis who were part of the planning and surveillance cost a whole lot more ââ¬â in US dollars.
A Federal Grand Jury indictment unsealed in Chicago on Thursday reveals that the Lashkar-e-Taiba bankrolled 26/11 suspect Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley to the tune of $ 28,000, including $ 3000 in Indian currency, for his repeated trips to India for surveillance jobs. Gilani/Headleyââ¬â¢s LeT handlers also showed him a styrofoam mockup of the Taj Mahal hotel and provided him with a global positioning system device and taught him how to use it to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai, which Headley then used during his surveillance trips in April and July 2008, the charges state.
The new details are contained in the indictment formally charging Chicago businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with helping his army school mate Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley in the Mumbai terror attack and being part of a conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to attack a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.
Throwing fresh light on the case, the Grand Jury also indicted Ilyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani special forces commando who authorities allege is a terrorist leader in contact with al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, a ''retired'' major in the Pakistani military. Both are believed to be in Pakistan and it was not immediately clear how the U.S intends to proceed against them. Rana and Gilani are in federal custody in Chicago.
The indictment offers new details about the role that the two Pakistani army school buddies are alleged to have played in the 2008 terror assault in Mumbai that killed nearly 170 people and the financial transactions in Pakistan. It says Rana knew of the planned attacks as long ago as 2006, and that he allowed Headley to travel as a representative of his Chicago-based Immigration business when the latter went overseas to scout locations for the
attacks.
But Gilani/Headleyââ¬â¢s involvement in terrorism goes even further back to 2002 and 2003 when he allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by LeT. According to the charges, unnamed Lashkar Member A, who served as a ââ¬Åhandlerââ¬Â for Headley and another person associated with Lashkar, advised Headley in late 2005 that he would be traveling to India to perform surveillance of potential targets. Headley changed his given name of Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, enabling him ââ¬Åto present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani,ââ¬Â says the indictment.
In the spring of 2006, Lashkar Member A and a Lashkar associate discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities. In approximately June 2006, Headley allegedly traveled to Chicago, advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India, and obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities.
Rana allegedly directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headleyââ¬â¢s cover story of opening a First World office in Mumbai, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India. Headley misrepresented his birth name, his fatherââ¬â¢s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application, the indictment alleges.
The indictment says Headley made five extended trips to Mumbai ââ¬â in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 ââ¬â each time taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008, and using his association with First World as cover for his travels. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance photos and videos.
US authorities have refrained from naming LeT Member A and other Pakistani associates in the plot in order not to embarrass Islamabad, which is widely seen here as patron of terrorism in all but formal designation. Washington apparently needs Pakistani cooperation, and a toe-hold in Islamabad, to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism there. ana, 49, was indicted on three counts of providing material support to terrorism, including the Mumbai and Denmark plots. He remains held without bail and could face a life term if convicted. Headley, who is also 49, faces 12 counts, including six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India. The charges against him could carry the death penalty if he is convicted, but he has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest in Chicago in October in the hope of a reduced sentence.