Global Security Newswire

Indian authorities have apprehended a man they think played a logistical role in the 2008 terrorist assaults that killed 166 people in Mumbai and led to a breakdown in peace talks with rival Pakistan, the New York Times reported on Monday (see GSN, May 25).

New Delhi law enforcement officials would not disclose the identity of the man, only giving his pseudonym of Abu Jindal. Indian news organizations have reported the suspect's name is Sayeed Zabiudeen Ansari. He is believed to belong to Lahskar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based extremist group behind the Mumbai attacks.

He allegedly relayed directions by telephone to the 10 Lashkar gunmen who carried out the coordinated sieges at a high-profile hotel and other locations around the city.

Law enforcement officials were able to eavesdrop on some of the Lashkar phone calls. During one call, a man identified by the gunmen as Jindal told extremists laying siege to one site that "this is just a trailer. The real film is yet to come."

The only Lashkar operative not killed in the attacks, Ajmal Qasab, informed Indian investigators the man giving directions by telephone had also assisted in readying them for the assault.

Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna applauded law enforcement officials for "doing a magnificent job."

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan eventually resumed their comprehensive peace process; bilateral discussions held last month focused on joint efforts to combat terrorism, according to earlier reports (Hari Kumar, New York Times, June 25).