Terrorists May Be Planning Paraglider Attacks in India

A paraglider terror attack? It may seem to be a little far-fetched at first blush, but for those who don’t believe that terrorists are continually devising new and surprising ways to launch their attacks, this story may change your mind. The Times Online reports that Indian intelligence officials suspect that the terrorist group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks is planning another audacious strike on the country, this time from the air, using suicide bombers flying paragliders.

U. K. Bansal, an Indian Home Ministry official, told reporters that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba faction was thought to have acquired a number of the gliding parachutes.

“We have intelligence reports that LeT has purchased 50 paragliding kits from Europe with an intention to launch attacks on India,” he said.

No other details were given, but security levels have been hiked across the country ahead of tomorrow’s Republic Day celebrations, one of India’s biggest holidays.

via Read Full Article – Times Online.

Chicago Terror Suspect Knew Mumbai Attacks Were Coming

WLS News reports that a Chicago travel agent and terror suspect had advance knowledge of last year’s deadly three-day attack on Mumbai, India, according to newly filed documents by federal prosecutors in Chicago.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana Rana, a Chicago travel agency owner and owner of an Illinois goat slaughterhouse, is heard on a secret tape recording admitting that he knew Pakistani terrorists were going to assault hotels and public buildings according to the government.

Rana, whom prosecutors note “has even gone so far as to claim to this Court that his beliefs are akin to those of Gandhi” is portrayed as a supporter of violent Johad who needs to remain in custody without bond states the court motion.

Prosecutors write: “On September 7, 2009, Headley and Rana took a long car ride and discussed several topics. This conversation was recorded. During their conversation, Headley and Rana discussed the attacks that occurred in late November 2008 in Mumbai, India, in which approximately 170 people were killed. It is clear from the conversation and extrinsic corroboration that Rana was told just days before the Mumbai attacks that the attacks were about to happen. Elsewhere in the conversation, Rana asked Headley to pass Rana’s compliments directly to the specific Lashkar e Tayyiba member they both knew who had coordinated the attacks.”

via 2nd Chicago terror suspect knew about Mumbai attack – 12/14/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com.

Is American The Missing Link In Mumbai Terror Attack?

With the passport of David Headley now apparently confirming his nine visits to India, investigators are now focusing on whether he is the missing answer to last year’s Mumbai terror attacks. Headley was placed under arrest in Chicago last week by the FBI for allegedly conspiring with Lashkar-e-Toiba to launch terrorist attacks in India. Lashkar-e-Toiba is the group blamed for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year.

News sources reported on Sunday that Headley was a guest at several of the hotels targeted in the the Mumbai attack and also reportedly pretended to be Jewish, staying at the Chabad center prior to the deadly attack. These reports have not yet been confirmed by U.S. authorities.

The American and Indian authorities are questioning an American citizen of Pakistani descent on suspicion of involvement in last year’s Mumbai terror attacks. Indian media reported on Sunday that the suspect pretended to be Jewish, stayed at the Chabad center and prepared the ground for the lethal attack.

David Coleman Headly (49) was arrested last month at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport while on his way to Philadelphia, and from there to Pakistan. The American Federal Bureau of Investigations suspected he was involved in a plot to carry out an attack in Denmark following the publication of the controversial Prophet Muhammad caricatures.

A deeper look, however, revealed that he was also involved in the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, in which at least 173 people were killed.

Since Headley’s arrest, the US has been investigating his actions along with the Indian authorities. Over the weekend Headley’s role became clear: Indian security sources reported that he was the one who scanned the Chabad center for the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is believed to be responsible for the attacks.

Source

From IBN

CNN-IBN has learnt this after accessing Headley’s passport, which he acquired in March 2006 after allegedly joining the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the group blamed for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year.

The passport shows that Headley visited New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Agra between 2006-2009–trips investigators suspect were recces for terrorist attack conspiracies.

Headley, while visiting Mumbai in March 2006, listed Hotel Trident as a place of residence. He stayed at guesthouse near the CST Railway Terminus and he booked a room at the Taj Hotel. The Trident, the Taj, and the CST terminus were three main targets of terrorists during the November 2008 attacks.

Headley visited New Delhi in March 2009 and stayed in two hotels in Paharganj, close to the railway station in the national capital’s historic area. Records show he stayed at Anand Hotel and De Holiday International for three days.

via Source.

Mumbai Terror Detective Tells Of World Plot

As terrorist gunmen ran amok in Mumbai on the night of November 26, Rakesh Maria, a detective whose exploits regularly inspire Bollywood’s thriller makers, found himself facing the most valuable captive he is ever likely to interrogate.

The prisoner was Azam Amir Kasab, 21, allegedly the sole Mumbai gunman to be taken alive, who made his first public appearance in a special bomb-proof courtroom inside Mumbai’s high-security Arthur Road jail today.

During the opening moments of what would become a 60-hour ordeal, Mr Kasab and an accomplice allegedly shot dead 58 people at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the city’s main railway station – an assault on working-class commuters that would account for a third of the Mumbai attack’s total death toll. Nine other gunmen were killed.

Mr Kasab, who is accused of being a footsoldier for the Islamist Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist faction, allegedly failed in his bid for martyrdom when the car he and Ismail Khan had stolen ran into a police roadblock. While Khan was shot dead, Mr Kasab was captured.

via The Pakistan link: Mumbai terror detective tells of world plot – Times Online.