Attribution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks

2022-12-08T09:55:52Z

110.235.229.80:

{{EngvarB|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{main|2008 Mumbai attacks}}
'''Attribution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks''' were first made by the [[Government of India|Indian authorities]] who said that the [[2008 Mumbai attacks|Mumbai attacks]] were directed by [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] militants inside [[Pakistan]].<ref name="NYTdeepties">Jane Perlez and Salman Masood (26 July 2009). [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/world/asia/27pstan.html "Terror Ties Run Deep in Pakistan, Mumbai Case Shows"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> [[United States Intelligence Community|American intelligence agencies]] also agree with this attribution.<ref name="ISItraining">{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Schmitt |author2=Sengupta, Somini |title=Ex-U.S. Official Cites Pakistani Training for India Attackers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/world/asia/04india.html?hp |work=The New York Times |date=3 December 2008 |access-date=3 December 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130511222927/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/world/asia/04india.html?hp| archive-date=11 May 2013| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name = NYT-2008-12-03>{{cite news |last= Schmitt |first=Eric |author2=Somini Sengupta |author3=Jane Perlez |title=U.S. and India See Link to Militants in Pakistan |work=New York Times |date=3 December 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/world/asia/03mumbai.html?bl&ex=1228453200&en=a32b625bf9928825&ei=5087%0A |access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref><ref name=as_pakistan_shootings>{{cite news|first=Babar |last=Dogar |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Pakistan charity under suspicion in India attacks |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_shootings_militant_test |date=5 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207165050/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_shootings_militant_test |archive-date=7 December 2008 }}</ref> Pakistan initially contested this attribution, but agreed this was the case on 7 January 2009.<ref name="PakAdmitsNYT"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss |title=Surviving gunman's identity established as Pakistani
|work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |date=7 January 2009 |access-date=7 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320220451/http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss |archive-date=20 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="TIME08JAN2009">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1870267,00.html |title=Pakistan Continues to Resist India Pressure on Mumbai |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=8 January 2009 |access-date=8 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114080611/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1870267%2C00.html |archive-date=14 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> To back up its accusations, the Indian government supplied a dossier to Pakistan's [[high commission]] in [[Delhi]].{{when|date=December 2017}} The Pakistan government dismissed the dossier as "not evidence," but also announced that it had detained over a hundred members of [[Jamaat-ud-Dawa]], a charity linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba. In February 2009, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik agreed that "some part of the conspiracy" did take place in Pakistan.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090083331 |title=Part of 26/11 plan made on our land, admits Pakistan |publisher=NDTV |date=12 February 2009|access-date=12 February 2009}}</ref>

Moreover, Indian government officials have said that the attacks were so sophisticated that they must have had official backing from Pakistani "agencies",<ref name="BlameAgenciesNYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/asia/07india.html "India accuses Pakistani 'agencies{{'"}}]. ''The New York Times''. (6 January 2009).</ref> an accusation denied by Pakistan.<ref name="ISItraining"/><ref name="PakAdmitsNYT" />

{{Campaignbox India terrorism}}
{{Campaignbox Mumbai terrorism}}

==Attribution==
{{main|2008 Mumbai attacks}}

{{see also|Erroneous reporting on the 2008 Mumbai attacks}}
The Mumbai attacks were planned and directed by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants inside Pakistan, and carried out by ten young armed men trained and sent to Mumbai and directed from inside Pakistan via mobile phones and VoIP.<ref name="NYTdeepties"/><ref name="ISItraining"/><ref name = NYT-2008-12-03 />

In July 2009 Pakistani authorities confirmed to their Indian counterparts that their investigations confirmed that LeT plotted and financed the attacks. Investigations conducted in LeT camps in Karachi and [[Thatta]] revealed diaries, training manuals, maps of India and operational instructions. According to a report from Pakistani investigators to Indian authorities, "the investigation has established beyond any reasonable doubt that the defunct LeT activists conspired, abetted, planned, financed and established [the] communication network to carry out terror attacks in Mumbai."<ref>{{cite news | last = Hussain | first = Zahid | title = Islamabad Tells of Plot by Lashkar | place = Islamabad |work=Wall Street Journal | date = 28 July 2009| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124872197786784603?mod=googlenews_wsj | access-date = 28 July 2009}}</ref>

The criminal investigation begun by the Mumbai police has identified 37 suspects – including two army officers – wanted for their alleged involvement in the plot. All but two of the suspects, many of whom are identified only through aliases, are Pakistani.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5806381.ece|title=Pakistani Army colonel 'was involved' in Mumbai terror attacks|access-date=26 February 2009 |author=Rhys Blakely |work=[[The Times]]|date=26 February 2009 | location=London}}</ref>

[[David Headley]] was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and between 2002 and 2009 Headley travelled extensively as part of his work for LeT. Headey received training in small arms and countersurveillance from LeT, built a network of connections for the group, and was chief scout in scoping out targets for the Mumbai attacks.<ref name="nytimes1">[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/world/asia/17headley.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=global-home "U.S. Had Warnings on Plotter of Mumbai Attack"]. ''The New York Times''. (16 October 2010).</ref><ref>[https://www.propublica.org/article/mumbai-plot-fbi-was-warned-years-in-advance "FBI Was Warned Years in Advance of Mumbai Attacker's Terror Ties"]. [[ProPublica]]. (15 October 2010).</ref>

Lashkar-e-Taiba was created and sponsored by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] Directorate (ISI). US officials have stated that current or retired ISI officers probably played some role in the Mumbai attacks. An ISI officer known as Major Iqbal gave Headley $25,000 in cash in 2006 to scout out the target sites in Mumbai, helped him arrange a communications system for the attack, and oversaw a model of the Taj Mahal Hotel so that gunmen could know their way inside the target, according to Headley's testimony to Indian authorities. Headley also helped ISI recruit Indian agents to monitor Indian troop levels and movements, according to a US official. At the same time, Headley was also an informant for the US [[Drug Enforcement Administration]], and Headley's wives warned American officials of Headley's involvement with LeT and his plotting of terrorist operations, warning specifically that the Taj Mahal Hotel may be their target.<ref name="nytimes1"/>

===Cooperation by Pakistan===
Pakistan initially contested that Pakistanis were responsible for the attacks, but agreed this was the case on 7 January 2009.<ref name="PakAdmitsNYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/world/asia/08pstan.html|title= Gunman in Mumbai Siege a Pakistani, Official Says |work=The New York Times |author=Richard A. Oppel |author2=Salman Masood |name-list-style=amp |date= 7 January 2009 |access-date=21 February 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090411120649/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/world/asia/08pstan.html| archive-date=11 April 2009| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="TIME08JAN2009" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss |title=Surviving gunman's identity established as Pakistani |author=Mubashir Zaidi |work=Dawn |date=7 January 2009 |access-date=7 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320220451/http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss |archive-date=20 March 2017}}</ref>

A year after the attacks, Mumbai police continued to complain that Pakistani authorities are not co-operating by providing information for their investigation.<ref name="hindu20091123">{{cite news| url = http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/27/stories/2009112756271000.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091129120454/http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/27/stories/2009112756271000.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 29 November 2009 | title = Missing evidence mars Mumbai massacre probe | author=Praveen Swami | author-link=Praveen Swami | date = 23 November 2009 | work = [[The Hindu]] | location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Meanwhile, journalists in Pakistan said security agencies were preventing them from interviewing people from Kasab's village.<ref name="rsf20091113">{{cite news|url=http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34979 |title=Two journalists held after helping media probe Mumbai attacker's background |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=13 November 2009 |author=Reporters Without Borders |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125205940/http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34979 |archive-date=25 November 2009 }}</ref><ref name="hindu20091124">{{ cite news | url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article53785.ece | title = Kasab's village remains a no-go area for journalists | author=Nirupama Subramanian | work=The Hindu| date = 24 November 2009 | location=Chennai, India}}</ref>

The Indian government supplied evidence to Pakistan's high commission in Delhi, in the form of interrogations, weapons, and call records of conversations during the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/CONTENT/Jan42009/scroll20090104110538.asp?section=frontpagenews |title=PC heads for US with 26/11 proof |author=Anirban Bhaumik |work=Deccan Herald |location=India |date=4 January 2009 |access-date=21 February 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The evidence, shown to friendly governments and media, provided a detailed sequence of training, supplying, and constant communications of attackers with handlers from Pakistan.<ref name="DossierNYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/asia/07india.html |title=Dossier Gives Details of Mumbai Attacks |work=The New York Times |date=6 January 2009 |author=Somini Sengupta|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410124934/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/asia/07india.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=10 April 2009}}</ref> In addition, Indian government officials said that the attacks were so sophisticated that they must have had official backing from Pakistani "agencies", an accusation denied by Pakistan.<ref name="ISItraining"/><ref name="PakAdmitsNYT" />

In February 2009, Pakistani newspaper ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]'', citing Pakistani investigators, claimed that the attacks were planned in Bangladesh and refined in India with significant support being provided by Indian-based militant groups and criminal organisations.<ref name="Dawn_Bdeshlink">{{cite news|author=Baqir Sajjad Syed |author2=Mohammad Asghar |name-list-style=amp |title=Investigators see Bangladesh link in Mumbai terror attacks |work=Dawn |date=9 February 2009 |url=http://www.dawn.com/2009/02/05/top2.htm |access-date=10 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208035759/http://dawn.com/2009/02/05/top2.htm |archive-date=8 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Indian investigators refuted this claim, with the [[Minister for Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] [[P. Chidambaram|Palaniappan Chidambaram]] dismissing the claim as "rubbish".<ref name="hindu020909">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902092232.htm|title=Chidambaram asserts 26/11 originated from Pak soil|work=The Hindu|location=India|date=9 February 2009|access-date=21 February 2009|archive-date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105141847/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902092232.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 12 February 2009, Pakistan's Interior Minister [[Rehman Malik]] agreed that some part of the conspiracy did take place in Pakistan. Malik said that Pakistan had lodged a [[First Information Report]] (FIR) under Anti-Terrorism Act against three persons.<ref name="nd">{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20090083331&type=News |title=Part of 26/11 plan made on our land, admits Pakistan |publisher=[[NDTV]] |date=12 February 2009|access-date=12 February 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090213155833/http://ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20090083331&type=News| archive-date= 13 February 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Pakistani Foreign Minister [[Shah Mehmood Qureshi]] said on 15 February 2009 that the [[2007 Samjhauta Express bombings]] and the Mumbai attacks were linked, and that Pakistan needed information from India to continue its investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2009/02/16/top5.htm |title=Samjhota, Mumbai attacks linked, says Qureshi |access-date=16 February 2009 |author=Shakeel Ahmad |work=Dawn |date=16 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219175006/http://dawn.com/2009/02/16/top5.htm |archive-date=19 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Attackers===

[[Image:Mumbai attacks vinu image01-crop.jpg|thumb|right|Police looking for attackers outside Colaba]]
{{See also|Pakistan and state terrorism}}
There were ten gunmen, nine of whom were subsequently shot dead and one captured by security forces.<ref name="NYT_NOV29">{{cite news |work=The New York Times |date=29 November 2008|title=India Faces Reckoning as Terror Toll Eclipses 170 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink |access-date=21 February 2009 |author=Somini Sengupta |author2=Keith Bradsher |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref name=bm-saline>{{cite news|title=Please give me saline |date=29 November 2008 |work=Bangalore Mirror |access-date=21 February 2009 |location=India |author=Rakesh Prakash |url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=1&contentid=2008112920081129095627277cedee9e0&sectxslt= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302112856/http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=1&contentid=2008112920081129095627277cedee9e0&sectxslt= |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Witnesses reported that they looked to be in their early twenties, wore black T-shirts and jeans, and that they smiled and looked happy as they shot their victims.<ref name=cool>{{cite news |last=Ramesh |first=Randeep |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/28/mumbai-terror-attacks-india |title=They were in no hurry. Cool and composed, they killed and killed |work=The Guardian |date=28 November 2008 |access-date=29 November 2008 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081201071600/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/28/mumbai-terror-attacks-india| archive-date= 1 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

It was initially reported that some of the attackers were British citizens,<ref name=numbers>{{cite news |last=Balakrishnan |first=Angela |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/28/british-terrorists-mumbai |title=Claims emerge of British terrorists in Mumbai |work=The Guardian |date=28 November 2008 |access-date=29 November 2008 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081201071534/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/28/british-terrorists-mumbai| archive-date= 1 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="ASSOCIATED PRESS-27th">{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/new-claims-of-britons-amongst-mumbai-gunmen-1039452.html|title=Arrested Mumbai gunmen 'of British descent'|author=Tom Morgan|work=The Independent |location=UK|access-date=28 November 2008 | date=28 November 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081201062047/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/new-claims-of-britons-amongst-mumbai-gunmen-1039452.html| archive-date= 1 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> but the Indian Government later stated that there was no evidence to confirm this.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3533837/Mumbai-attack-Government-has-no-evidence-of-British-involvement.html|title=Mumbai attack: Government 'has no evidence of British involvement' |date=28 November 2008|access-date=28 February 2009|author=Jon Swaine|publisher=The Daily Telegraph| location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090202210536/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3533837/Mumbai-attack-Government-has-no-evidence-of-British-involvement.html| archive-date= 2 February 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Similarly, early reports of twelve gunmen<ref>{{cite news | last = McElroy | first = Damien | title = Mumbai attacks: police admit there were more than ten attackers |work=The Daily Telegraph | date = 6 December 2008| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3628614/Mumbai-attacks-police-admit-there-were-more-than-ten-attackers.html | access-date = 4 August 2009| location=London}}
</ref> were also later shown to be incorrect.<ref name="DossierNYT" />

On 9 December, the ten attackers were identified by Mumbai police, along with their home towns in Pakistan: Ajmal Amir from [[Faridkot, Okara|Faridkot]], [[Abu Ismail Dera Ismail Khan]] from [[Dera Ismail Khan]], Hafiz Arshad and Babr Imran from Multan, Javed from [[Okara, Pakistan|Okara]], Shoaib from [[Sialkot]], Nazih and Nasr from [[Faisalabad]], Abdul Rahman from Arifwalla, and Fahad Ullah from Dipalpur Taluka. Dera Ismail Khan is in the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North-West Frontier Province]]; the rest of the towns are in Pakistani Punjab.<ref name="NYTFullNames">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/world/asia/10mumbai.html |title=Mumbai Attackers Called Part of Larger Band of Recruits |work=The New York Times |author=Jeremy Kahn |author2=Robert F. Worth |name-list-style=amp |date=9 December 2008|access-date=21 February 2009}}</ref>

=== Arrests ===
{{main|Ajmal Kasab}}
Ajmal Kasab was the only attacker captured alive by police and was hanged on 21 November 2012 at 7:30 am.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mumbaivoice.com/ajmal-kasab-hanged-today-at-730-am-today|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121123182355/http://www.mumbaivoice.com/ajmal-kasab-hanged-today-at-730-am-today|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2012|title=Ajmal Kasab hanged today at 7:30 am today|publisher=Mumbai Voice|access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> Much of the information about the attackers' preparation, travel, and movements comes from his confessions to the Mumbai police.<ref name="azam">{{cite news|title=Planned 9/11 at Taj, reveals caught terrorist |url=http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-11-29/487150news.html |publisher=[[Zee TV|Zee News]] |date=29 November 2008 |access-date=21 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225174923/http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-11-29/487150news.html |archive-date=25 December 2008 }}</ref>

On 12 February 2009 Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Pakistani national Javed Iqbal, who acquired [[VoIP]] phones in Spain for the Mumbai attackers, and Hamad Ameen Sadiq, who had facilitated money transfer for the attack, had been arrested.<ref name="nd"/> Two other men known as Khan and Riaz, but whose full names were not given, were also arrested.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090212/ts_nm/us_pakistan_india_7 |title=Pakistan says it arrests Mumbai attack plotters |author=Kamran Haider |publisher=[[Yahoo!|Yahoo News]] |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=21 February 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Two Pakistanis were arrested in [[Brescia]], Italy on 21 November 2009, after being accused of providing logistical support to the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article52322.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707022551/http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article52322.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Italy arrests two for Mumbai attacks |date=21 November 2009 |work=The Hindu |location=India |access-date=21 November 2009 }}</ref>

In October 2009, two men were charged by the FBI for involvement in terrorism abroad, [[David Coleman Headley]] and [[Tahawwur Hussain Rana]]. Mumbai police suspect these two may be involved in the Mumbai attacks, too.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mumbai police probe David Headley's links to 26/11 attacks|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-police-probe-david-headley-s-links-to-26-11-attacks_1308973|date=8 November 2009|work=Daily News and Analysis |location=India|access-date=16 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091116155352/http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-police-probe-david-headley-s-links-to-26-11-attacks_1308973| archive-date= 16 November 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Headley is reported to have posed as an American Jew and is believed to have links with terrorist outfits based in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news|title=David Headley posed as Jew in Mumbai|author=Josy Joseph|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_david-headley-posed-as-jew-in-mumbai_1309057|date=9 November 2009|work=Daily News and Analysis|access-date=16 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091112184125/http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_david-headley-posed-as-jew-in-mumbai_1309057| archive-date= 12 November 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>
[[Lashkar-e-Taiba]], a Pakistan-based terrorist group, planned and executed the Mumbai attacks.<ref name="NYTdeepties" /><ref name="LeTplanning">[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_shootings_militant_test Pakistan charity under suspicion in India attacks, AP story, Babar Dogar, 05-Dec-2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207165050/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_shootings_militant_test |date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>

The attacks were directed by handlers inside Pakistan, and carried out by ten well-trained Pakistani attackers who travelled to Mumbai by sea from [[Karachi]]<ref name="ISItraining"/> via a [[Piracy|hijacked]] [[fishing trawler|trawler]].<ref name=SkyNews-2008-12-02>{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Mumbai-Terror-Attack-Plan-Revealed/Article/200812115170931?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15170931_Mumbai_Terror_Attack_Plan_Revealed|title=Mumbai Attack Plans Uncovered|date=2 December 2008|access-date=2 December 2008|publisher=[[Sky News]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081205082034/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Mumbai-Terror-Attack-Plan-Revealed/Article/200812115170931?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15170931_Mumbai_Terror_Attack_Plan_Revealed| archive-date= 5 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> Nine of the attackers were killed and one, [[Ajmal Amir]], was captured alive.<ref name=SkyNews-2008-12-02/><ref name=AP-2008-12-09>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i7sR3hcvrfn7lck8qKSH2cqwyzZAD94VALQO0|title=Information on gunmen killed in Mumbai attacks|agency=Associated Press|date=9 December 2009|access-date=10 December 2008}}</ref><ref name=EconomicTimes-2008-11-29-ArrestedTerrorist>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Arrested_terrorist_says_gang_hoped_to_get_away/articleshow/msid-3772281,curpg-2.cms|title=Arrested terrorist says gang hoped to get away|date=29 November 2008|access-date=30 November 2008|work=The Economic Times |location=India}}</ref>

The Indian government also says that former officers from the [[Pakistan Army]] and Pakistan's powerful and secretive [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) [[intelligence agency]] helped train the Mumbai attackers.<ref name="ISItraining"/> Police are also looking into possible Indian collaborators, also trained in Pakistan<ref name="SixLittleIndians">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/world/asia/06mumbai.html |title=Indian police foiled earlier plot against Mumbai |work=The New York Times |date=5 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="SIMcardLead" /> Four former ISI officers have been requested by the US to be placed on the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267|UN Consolidated List]] of terrorists, which will permit sanctions on their bank accounts,<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=18775 ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121045838/http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=18775 |date=21 January 2010 }}</ref> as well as the [[Interpol]] wanted list.<ref name="RetiredISIofficers">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/12/us_moves_to_declare.php |title=US moves to declare former Pakistani officers international terrorists |author=Roggio, Bill |publisher=The Long War Journal |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref>

Police are also looking into possible Indian collaborators, also trained in Pakistan.<ref name="SixLittleIndians" /><ref name="SIMcardLead" /><ref name="Undercover">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/world/asia/08mumbai.html |title=Indian police focus on two men in Mumbai attacks |author=Jeremy Kahn |work=The New York Times |date=7 December 2008}}</ref>

==Investigations in Pakistan==
The Government of Pakistan initially denied that any of the attackers were Pakistani. On 6 January 2009, they admitted that "part of" the attacks were planned inside Pakistan. They accepted that [[Ajmal Amir Kasab]], the only attacker captured alive, was Pakistani.

In the months since the attacks, police in Pakistan have produced their own dossier which adds information about the Lashkar-e-Taiba network and of the involvement of specific individuals in planning and training.<ref name="nytfearnewmumbai">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html |title=Officials Fear New Mumbai-Style Attacks |author1=Lydia Polgreen |author2=Souad Mekhennet |work=The New York Times |date=30 November 2009}}</ref>

Pakistani authorities have arrested seven men linked to the Mumbai attacks, including Hammad Amin Sadiq, a homoeopathic pharmacist, who arranged bank accounts and secured supplies, and Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the chief of operations for Lashkar. They are searching for at least 13 other suspects.

But their investigation has come up short of the founder of Lashkar, Hafiz Saeed, the man Indian and Western officials accuse of masterminding the attacks. In June 2009, a Pakistani court freed Mr. Saeed from detention, declaring it did not have enough evidence to hold him. He now has an international warrant out for his arrest, issued by Interpol.

==Attackers==
The names and photographs of the ten attackers and their hometowns in Pakistan were released by Mumbai police on 9 December.<ref name="NYTFullNames"/><ref name=BBC-2008-12-10>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7773927.stm|title=India police 'name Mumbai gunmen'|date=9 December 2008|access-date=10 December 2008|work=BBC| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081210053247/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7773927.stm| archive-date= 10 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="LeTArrests">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/world/asia/10pstan.html |title=Pakistan confirms arrests of militants |author1=Jane Perlez |author2=Salman Masood |work=The New York Times |date=9 December 2008}}</ref>
<ref name="WaPoLakhviArrestDetails" /> All were from [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] except Ismail Khan, who was from [[Dera Ismail Khan]] in the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North-West Frontier Province]].

Their names were difficult to establish because the alleged trainers of the attackers maintained "a system of changing the names of the members every few months, so that everyone had layers of names that were discarded over time."<ref name=NYTimes-2008-12-04>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/world/asia/04pstan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=asia|title=Mumbai Attack Is Test for Pakistan on Curbing Militants|work=New York Times |date=4 December 2008|access-date=4 December 2008 | first1=Jane | last1=Perlez | first2=Somini | last2=Sengupta}}</ref>

Some of the terrorists booked a room in the Taj hotel posed as students using [[Identity document forgery|forged]] Mauritian [[identity document]]s and credit cards, but there is no evidence any of them were actually from Mauritius, which is an Indian Ocean [[Island country|island nation]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Election_Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080074625&type=News|title=Terrorists stayed in room 630, had many visitors|publisher=NDTV|last=Rajput|first=Rashmi|date=30 November 2008}}</ref>

Each attacker carried a dozen [[hand grenade]]s, a [[9×19mm Parabellum|9×19mm]] [[handgun]] with two 18-round [[Magazine (firearms)|magazines]] and an [[AK-47]], seven to nine 30-round magazines and more than 100 rounds of loose [[ammunition]].<ref name="NYTFullNames" /> Each terrorist also carried a 17.6-pound (8 kg) bomb. Three of these bombs were recovered and defused, while the others exploded during the attacks. To navigate to Mumbai by sea and to find some targets, the terrorists used [[Global Positioning System]] handsets.<ref name="NYTFullNames" />

On 2 December, the number of ten terrorists, all coming into Mumbai from Karachi via a hijacked trawler, was repeated by Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor. He detailed that the terrorists broke up into five groups of two men each.<ref name="SkyNews-2008-12-02" />

One attacker, [[Mohammad Ajmal Amir]], is known to be a Pakistani national.<ref name=Time-2008-11-30-PerilsofBlamingPakistan>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1862864,00.html |title=Mumbai: The Perils of Blaming Pakistan |date=30 November 2008 |access-date=30 November 2008 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Aryn |last=Baker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201163931/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1862864%2C00.html |archive-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Pakistani government denies it, but several reporters have visited the small town in Pakistan where he said his family lives, and verified it.<ref name="FaridkotVisit">{{cite news|author=Saeed Shah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/07/mumbai-terrorism-india-pakistan |title=Revealed: home of Mumbai's gunman in Pakistan village, The Observer, 07-Dec-2008 |work=Guardian |location=UK |date= 7 December 2008|access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="KasabID">{{cite news | first= Saeed| last= Shah| title=Mumbai terrorist came from Pakistan, local villagers confirm | date=7 December 2008 |work=The Observer | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/07/mumbai-terrorism-india-pakistan1 |access-date=7 December 2008 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207213956/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/07/mumbai-terrorism-india-pakistan1| archive-date= 7 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> In addition, Mohammed Ajmal Amir was able to identify his home town on Google Maps, and pointed out places he used to hang out as a teenager.<ref name=DNAIndia-2008-12-13>{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1213564|title=Ajmal shows police terror camps and his home on google|date=13 December 2008|access-date=13 December 2008|publisher=[[DNA India]]}}</ref>

The Observer stated that it had found Ajmal Amir's parents in the electoral record for "[[Faridkot, Okara|Faridkot]], near Depalpur" containing 478 registered voters, and described comments from villagers about Ajmal Amir and about the village being "an active recruiting ground" for Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref name="KasabID" /><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/07/mumbai-terrorism-india-pakistan Revealed: home of Mumbai's gunman in Pakistan village]. The Guardian.</ref> The BBC also reported confirmation from local villagers and the presence of numerous intelligence officials at Ajmal Amir's family's house.<ref name="TimesI_BBCvillagevisit">{{cite news | title=BBC report confirms Indian charge of Pakistan links to Mumbai attacks | date=7 December 2008 |location=India | url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/07/stories/2008120759850800.htm |access-date=7 December 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081209072855/http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/07/stories/2008120759850800.htm| archive-date= 9 December 2008 | work=[[The Hindu]] | url-status= dead}}</ref>

The Indian government supplied a dossier to Pakistan's [[high commission]] in [[Delhi]], containing interrogations, weapons, and call records of conversations during the attacks.<ref name="EvidenceGivenNYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/05/world/AP-AS-Pakistan-India.html |title=Pakistan is given evidence in attacks |agency=Associated Press |work=The New York Times |date=5 January 2009}}</ref> Shown to friendly governments and media, it provides a detailed sequence of training, supplying, and constant communications with handlers from Pakistan.<ref name="DossierNYT"/> The Pakistan government dismissed the dossier as "not evidence,"<ref name="GuardianDismissal">{{cite news|author=Saeed Shah in Islamabad |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/14/mumbai-terror-attacks-india-pakistan |title=Pakistan dismisses Indian dossier on Mumbai attacks, Saeed Shah, Guardian newspaper, 14 January 2009 |work=Guardian |location=UK |date= 14 January 2009|access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref> but also announced that it had detained over a hundred members of [[Jamaat-ud-Dawa]], a charity linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref name="JuDArrestsNYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/world/asia/16pstan.html |title=Pakistan Says 124 Arrested in Mumbai Investigation |work=The New York Times |date=15 January 2009}}</ref>

On 12 February 2009, Pakistan's Interior Minister [[Rehman Malik]] has agreed that some part of the conspiracy did take place in Pakistan. Malik said that Pakistan has lodged the FIR under Anti-Terrorism Act against three persons.<ref name="NDTV" />

Pakistani Foreign Minister [[Shah Mehmood Qureshi]] said on 15 February 2009 that the [[2007 Samjhauta Express bombings]] and the Mumbai attacks were linked, and that Pakistan needed information from India to continue its investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2009/02/16/top5.htm |title=Samjhota, Mumbai attacks linked, says Qureshi |access-date=16 February 2009 |author=Shakeel Ahmad |work=DAWN |date=16 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219175006/http://dawn.com/2009/02/16/top5.htm |archive-date=19 February 2009 }}</ref>

To answer 30 question that Pakistan had given to India on the attack, India provided a 400-page dossier which they claim will be adequate enough to answer all the questions.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India-hands-over-replies-to-Pak/articleshow/4260353.cms | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=It's over to Pak now: India answers all 26/11 queries | date=14 March 2009}}</ref>

==List of attackers==
* '''[[Ajmal Kasab|Mohammad Ajmal Amir]]''' (aka ''Ajmal Amir Kamal, Ajmal Amir Kasab, Azam Ameer Qasab,, Azam Amir Qasab,<ref name=BBC-2008-12-10 /> Mohammad Ajmal Qasam, Ajmal Mohammed Amir Kasab,'' or ''Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasar'') – Initially imprisoned by Indian Police, eventually sentenced and hanged to death – Attacked the CST station, Cama Hospital. Captured after stealing Skoda Laura. Resident of [[Faridkot, Okara]] in the [[Depalpur Tehsil|tehsil of Depalpur]] in Pakistan's [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] province.<ref name="TheHindu-28">{{cite news |title=Three Lashkar fidayeen captured |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112862080100.htm |date=28 November 2008 |access-date=29 November 2008 |location=India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201100010/http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112862080100.htm |archive-date=1 December 2008 |work=[[The Hindu]] |url-status=dead}}</ref> The 21-year-old man was recruited from his Punjab, Pakistan home in part based on a pledge by recruiters to pay $1,250 to his family when he became a [[Shahid|martyr]].<ref name=NPR-2008-12-03>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97621922|title=Bombs found in Mumbai train station a week later|date=3 December 2008|access-date=3 December 2008|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205010021/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97621922|archive-date=5 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Pakistani government denies this man is from Pakistan, but several reporters have visited the small town in Pakistan where he said his family lives, and verified it.<ref name="FaridkotVisit" /><ref name="KasabID" /><ref name="DawnSpecial">[https://web.archive.org/web/20171008220342/http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn+Content+Library/dawn/news/pakistan/revealing-the-faridkot-mumbai-link-wk Revealing the Faridkot-Mumbai link, Dawn News special report, 12-Dec-2008]</ref>
* '''Abu Ismail Khan''' (aka ''Abu Dera Ismail Khan'', ''Ismail Khan'') (group leader)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2008/12/08212850/Mumbai-terror-probe-Kasabs-b.html |title=unknown |work=[[Sakaal Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908091821/http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2008/12/08212850/Mumbai-terror-probe-Kasabs-b.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 September 2012 |access-date=9 December 2008 }}</ref> – Dead – from Dera Ismail Khan; attacked CST station, Cama Hospital with Mohammad Ajmal Amir (Azam Amir Qasab). Killed in stolen Skoda Laura.<ref name=SydneyMorningHerald-2008-11-30>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/we-wanted-to-kill-5000/2008/11/30/1227979845539.html|title=We wanted to kill 5000, says surviving terrorist|date=30 November 2008|access-date=30 November 2008|work=Sydney Morning Herald | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081203105228/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/we-wanted-to-kill-5000/2008/11/30/1227979845539.html| archive-date= 3 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> Originally from Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, he was 25 years old.<ref name="WaPoLakhviArrestDetails">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120800331.html |title=Pakistani authorities said to arrest suspected ringleader in Mumbai attacks |work=The Washington Post |date= 9 December 2008 |access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref>
* '''Fahad Ullah''' (aka ''Shadullah'', ''Fahadullah'', ''Abu Fahad'') – Dead –Age 24, from Dipalpur Taluka. Attacked Hotel Oberoi. Called India TV and claimed to be part of Deecan Mujahideen. Claimed to be one of seven attackers in the Oberoi.<ref name=IndiaTV>{{cite news|url=http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=17627|title=Terrorists Ring Up India TV Twice During Siege Using Hostages' Cellphones|date=27 November 2008|access-date=30 November 2008|publisher=[[India TV]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118131033/http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=17627|archive-date=18 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''Mohammed Altaf''' (aka ''Abdul Rehaman Chota'') – Dead – from [[Arifwala Multan Road]]. Attacked the Oberoi Hotel.
* '''Babar Imaran''' (aka ''Imran Babar'', ''Abu Akasha'') – Dead – from [[Multan]]. Attacked Nariman House. Claimed to be one of five in Nariman House. Claimed to be 25 and a medical representative of a multinational corporation.<ref name="IndiaTV" />
* '''Nasir''' (aka ''Abu Umar'') – Dead – Age 28. Oldest of attackers. From Faisalabad. Attacked Nariman House.
* '''Nazir''' (aka ''Abu Umer'') – Dead – Also from Faisalabad. Attacked Taj Palace Hotel and Leopold Cafe.
* '''Shoaib''' (aka ''Soheb'') – Dead – from [[Sialkot, Narowal District]]. Youngest of attackers. Age 18. Attacked Taj Palace Hotel and Leopold Cafe.
* '''Javed''' (aka ''Abu Ali'') – Dead – From [[Okara, Pakistan|Okara]]. Attacked Taj Palace Hotel.
* '''Hafeez Arshad''' (aka ''Hafiz Arshad'', '' Abdul Rehaman Bada'') –Dead – Age 25, from Multan. Attacked Taj Palace Hotel

==Alleged controllers in Pakistan==
* '''[[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]]''' – Living in Pakistan – Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and ''[[amir]]'' of its political arm, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Maintains LeT was uninvolved in the attack. India has demanded Pakistan arrest him and [[Extradition|extradite]] him to India.<ref name=TimesofIndia-2008-12-05-Lashkar-chief>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/We_didnt_attack_Mumbai_says_Lashkar_chief/articleshow/3794903.cms|title=We didn't attack Mumbai, says Lashkar chief|date=5 December 2008|access-date=5 December 2008|work=The Times of India |location=India}}</ref>
* '''[[Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi|Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi]]''' – In custody of Pakistan military<ref name="LakhviArrestWaPo">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120800331.html |title=Pakistan Arrests Suspected Mastermind of Mumbai Attacks |work=The Washington Post |date= 8 December 2008 |access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref> – Senior member of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Named as being one of the masterminds of the Mumbai attack.<ref name=IndianExpress-2008-12-04>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Lakhvi-and-Muzammil-of-LeT-masterminded-Mumbai-attacks-/394219|title=Lakhvi, Yusuf of LeT planned Mumbai attack|agency=Associated Press|date=4 December 2008|access-date=5 December 2008}}</ref> Said by US officials to have been involved in operations in Chechnya, Bosnia and Kashmir, where he allegedly trained LeT operatives to carry out suicide attacks.<ref name=CBC-2008-12-9 />
* '''[[Masood Azhar]]''' – In custody of Pakistan military<ref name="BBC-2008-12-09">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7774664.stm|title=India seeks ban on Pakistan group|date=9 December 2008|access-date=13 December 2008|work=BBC News| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081213155111/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7774664.stm| archive-date= 13 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> – Wanted by India in connection with the attacks on the Indian Parliament in 2001. Involvement with present Mumbai bombings unspecified. Leader and founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
* '''Yusuf Muzammil''' – Status unknown, presumed living in Pakistan – senior member of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Named as the handler of Faheem Ansari, who was arrested in February 2008 scouting sites for attack in Mumbai,<ref name=DailyTimes-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\12\06\story_6-12-2008_pg1_6|title=India questions citizen over Mumbai attack|date=6 December 2008|access-date=5 December 2008|publisher=[[Daily Times (Pakistan)|Daily Times]]}}</ref> as well as mastermind of the attacks by surviving gunman Amjal Kamal.<ref name=IndianExpress-2008-12-04 />
* '''Zarar Shah''' – In Pakistani custody<ref name="ShahArrestAP">[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan "Pakistan confirms Mumbai arrests"], AP, 10 December 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211185839/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan |date=11 December 2008 }}</ref> – one of Lashkar-e-Taiba's primary liaisons to the ISI. Investigators in India are also examining whether Mr. Shah, a communications specialist, helped plan and carry out the attacks in Mumbai. "He's a central character in this plot," an American official said.<ref name="ZarrarShahMention">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/world/asia/08terror.html |title=Pakistan's Spies Aided Group Tied to Mumbai Siege |author=Eric Schmitt |display-authors=etal |work=The New York Times |date=7 December 2008}}</ref> Zarar Shah confessed to Pakistani authorities that LeT carried out the attacks, according to the Wall Street Journal.<ref name="NYTWallStreetZarar">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2008/12/31/world/international-us-pakistan-india.html |title=Pakistani investigators find Mumbai link |work=The New York Times |date=31 December 2008}}</ref>
* '''Hamad Ameen Sadiq''' – In Pakistani custody<ref name="PartlyPakWashPost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021200214.html |title=Official: Mumbai attack partly planned in Pakistan, Washington Post, 12 February 2009 |work=The Washington Post |date= 13 February 2009|access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref> – Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency calls him the "main operator". His bank accounts facilitated money transfer, and his arrest on 12 February 2009 led to information about the hide-outs of two others accused.
* '''Abu Hamza''' – Presumed living in Pakistan – Senior member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, gave the attackers maritime training, along with advanced lessons in explosives and weapons.<ref name="NYTHamzaKhafa">[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/world/asia/11pstan.html "Pakistan tries to curb militant group"]. ''The New York Times''. 10 December 2008.</ref>
* '''Khafa''' (single name) – Presumed living in Pakistan – Senior member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, helped familiarise the gunmen with their targets during the final phase of training.<ref name="NYTHamzaKhafa" />
* '''Muhammad Ashraf''' – LeT's top financial officer. Not directly connected to the Mumbai plot. Added by the U.N., after the 2008 Mumbai blasts, to the list of people who sponsor terrorism.<ref name="NYTUNSanctions">[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/world/asia/11mumbai.html "Indian police name 2 more men as trainers and supervisors of Mumbai attackers"]. ''The New York Times''. 11 December 2008.</ref>
* '''[[Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Bahaziq]]''' – The leader of LeT in Saudi Arabia and one of its financiers. Not directly connected to the Mumbai plot. Added by the U.N., after the 2008 Mumbai blasts, to the list of people who sponsor terrorism.<ref name="NYTUNSanctions" />

==Scouts==
*'''[[David Coleman Headley]]''', a Pakistani-American, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian, were arrested in Chicago in October 2009 in a different matter. But Indian investigators are looking at these two closely because they made multiple trips to India prior to the attacks and may have scouted locations.<ref name="nyt20091118">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/world/asia/19mumbai.html | title = Ex-Military Officer in Pakistan Is Linked to 2 Chicago Terrorism Suspects | author=David Johnston | author2=Eric Schmitt | name-list-style=amp |work=The New York Times | date = 18 November 2009}}</ref>

==Indian collaborators==
As of 6 December, there are at least two groups of possible Indian collaborators being investigated:

* '''Surveillance Team''' – One group of six men, consisting of Faheem Ahmed Ansari, Saba'uddin Ahmed, and others, already in police custody for a separate bombing in northern India, who may have conducted surveillance of the Mumbai landmarks that were attacked.<ref name="SixLittleIndians" />
* '''SIM Card Suppliers''' – A second group, consisting of Tauseef Rahman, Mukhtar Ahmed, who purchased the SIM cards that were used in the Mumbai attackers' phones.<ref name="SIMcardLead">[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_re_as/as_india_shooting Indian police arrest 2 men, Manik Banerjee, AP news wire, 06-Dec-2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207052142/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_re_as/as_india_shooting |date=7 December 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Undercover" />

===Surveillance team===
Faheem Ahmed Ansari, an Indian from Mumbai, is a suspected collaborator. His group of six Indian men were initially arrested in connection with an attack on a police station in northern India. Ansari had also carried out reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai earlier in the year. He was caught with hand-drawn sketches of 8 to 10 Mumbai landmarks.

This group said they had been directed by two Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders: Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, and a man known alternately as Yusuf or Muzammil—the same people who directed the Mumbai attackers by phone from Pakistan.

* '''Faheem Ahmed Ansari''' – Under arrest in India – Indian citizen, resident of Goregaon. Arrested in Rampur, northern India, in February 2008 with hand-drawn maps, sketches of targeted sites.<ref name=IndianExress-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Fahim-had-forewarned-about-Mumbai-attacks--but-no-one-listened/394862|title=Fahim had forewarned about Mumbai attacks, but no one listened|date=6 December 2008|access-date=5 December 2008|work=IndianExpress}}</ref> Ansari worked in Saudi Arabia in 2006, from where he said he was recruited by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and given a Pakistani passport, then trained in Pakistan. Claims to have carried out reconnaissance in the fall of 2007 against 8–9 targets including the attacked hotels, the US Consulate, the Mumbai stock exchange, and other sites. Named Yuuf Muzammil as his Lashkar-e-Taiba handler in Pakistan, and claimed to have been trained in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan.<ref name=DailyTimes-2008-12-06 /> A senior STF officer said, "Fahim guided the ATS to all the attack sites, particularly the Taj and CST, which he'd surveyed. He had sent the information by e-mail to somebody in Pakistan." The report went on to say, "Fahim used more than 16 e-mail accounts to communicate with his handlers. He sent them nine scanned copies of handmade maps. His disclosures were later cross-checked with another Pakistani militant Sabauddin, who was arrested for the Rampur attack."<ref name=HindustanTimes>{{cite news |url=http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=15259 |title=India: 26/11 planning started a year ago, and we had the evidence |date=5 December 2008 |access-date=5 December 2008 |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |location=India |via=[[The Muslim News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111102341/http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=15259 |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''Sabauddin Ahmed''' (aka ''Saba'uddin Ahmed'') – Under arrest in India. May have provided help to the Mumbai attackers. Arrested along with Faheem Ansari in February 2008.<ref name=CBC-2008-12-9>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/india-links-9-mumbai-attackers-to-pakistan-1.701038|title=India links 9 Mumbai attackers to Pakistan|date=9 December 2008|access-date=10 December 2008|publisher=[[CBC News]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081210173630/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/india-links-9-mumbai-attackers-to-pakistan-1.701038| archive-date= 10 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> He is a well-educated young man from an affluent family in Bihar, who said he had been trained both by Lashkar-e-Taiba and by an ISI operator for four months.<ref name="SixLittleIndians" />

On 18 December Both Mohammad Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed were taken on remand to Mumbai by a Mumbai Crime Branch team.<ref name="HinduISIAgentArrest">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/18/stories/2008121860230100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125231923/http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/18/stories/2008121860230100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 2009 |title=Pak intelligence agent arrested|location=India |date=18 December 2008 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=6 December 2010}}</ref>

===SIM card suppliers===
Two Indian men were arrested in Kolkata on 6 December for illegally buying mobile phone cards used by the gunmen in the Mumbai attacks. It is not known whether the two had advance knowledge of the attacks.

Tauseef Rahman allegedly bought SIM cards by providing fake documents, including identification cards of dead people, and sold them to Mukhtar Ahmed.

Ahmed is suspected to be an undercover policeman based in Srinagar.<ref name="SIMcardLead" /><ref name="Undercover" />

* '''Tausif Rehman, Muktar Ahmed''' – Under arrest in India – On 6 December 2008, two men were arrested in Calcutta, India, in connection with the Mumbai attacks, charged with conspiracy and forgery. These two men were being questioned in connection with selling of 22 cell phone [[Subscriber Identity Module]] (SIM) cards to the Mumbai attackers.<ref name=BBC-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7768770.stm|title=Two arrests over Mumbai attacks|date=6 December 2008|access-date=6 December 2008|work=BBC News| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206235226/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7768770.stm| archive-date= 6 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> One of the men was said to be from West Bengal and the other was from Kashmir. The Kashmiri suspect was at first believed to be a police officer.<ref name=AssociatedPress-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/924823.html|title=Indian police arrest 2 men in Mumbai investigation|date=6 December 2008|access-date=6 December 2008|agency=Associated Press| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207093508/http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/924823.html| archive-date= 7 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> Later the two men were identified as Tausif Rehman, a clerk from Howrah Station, and Mukhtar Ahmed, an auto-rickshaw (three-wheel taxi) driver of Kolkata. Rehman used the identity documents of a dead relative to acquire the SIM cards, and later sold the cards to Ahmed.<ref name=Reuters-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINCOL40420920081206|title=India police arrest two in Mumbai attacks probe|date=6 December 2008|access-date=6 December 2008|publisher=Reuters| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207020709/http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINCOL40420920081206| archive-date= 7 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name=ThaindianNews-2008-12-06>{{cite news|url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/two-arrested-by-kolkata-police-for-links-to-mumbai-terror-attacks_100127832.html|title=Two arrested by Kolkata Police for links to Mumbai terror attacks|date=6 December 2008|access-date=6 December 2008|publisher=IANS| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081212053708/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/two-arrested-by-kolkata-police-for-links-to-mumbai-terror-attacks_100127832.html| archive-date= 12 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==Erroneous reports and theories==
{{main|Erroneous reporting on the 2008 Mumbai attacks}}
There was enormous media coverage during and immediately after the attacks, and many of the early reports turned out to be erroneous in some details. The Government of Pakistan repeatedly dismissed claims that the attackers were Pakistani, presented alternative theories, and sought to link the attacks with other bombing incidents which, they claimed, the Indian government was responsible for. Similarly, many news outlets carried opinions and unattributed theories, which also caused confusion.

==See also==
* [[Allegations of state terrorism committed by Pakistan]]

==External links==
* [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122790731776065137?mod=googlenews_wsj "Translation of Message From 'Deccan Mujahideen{{'"}}]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. (28 November 2008).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100118131033/http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=17627 "Terrorists Ring Up India TV Twice During Siege Using Hostages' Cellphones"]. India TV. (27 November 2008). via Business Wire India. ''Transcript of cell phone calls made to India TV''.
* [http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/16026.html "Identity of Mumbai attackers still uncertain"]. TV3. (30 November 2008).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081129130444/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1862733,00.html?imw=Y "Who's Behind the Mumbai Massacre?"]. ''Time'' (28 November 2008).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151126185744/http://feelpankh.com/newz/1697 "Mumbai Attack 26/11: Continuing our bloody tolerance"]. Feelpankh (26 November 2015).

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}{{2008 Mumbai attacks}}
{{War on Terrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attribution of the Mumbai Attacks, 2008, November}}
[[Category:2008 Mumbai attacks]]

IndianPedia - User contributions [en]

Attribution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks