Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has became one of only four terrorist leaders for whom the US has offered a bounty of USD 10 million, joining the likes of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.
The only person with a higher bounty on his head than these four terrorist leaders is Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, for whom the US has offered a reward of USD 25 million under its Rewards for Justice programme.
Besides 61-year-old Saeed, the other terrorist leaders who carry a bounty of USD 10 million on their head are Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Du'a, one-eyed Mullah Omar and Yasin al-Suri alias Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, a senior Al-Qaeda facilitator based in Iran.
The listing for Saeed on the Rewards for Justice website describes him as a former professor of Arabic and Engineering who was a founding member of 'Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a radical Deobandi Islamist organisation dedicated to installing Islamist rule over parts of India and Pakistan, and its military branch, Lashkar-e-Taiba'.
"Saeed is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six American citizens," the listing further states.
The website noted that India has issued an Interpol Red Corner Notice against Saeed for his role in the Mumbai attacks. Besides, the US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a 'Specially Designated National under Executive Order 13224'.
The Order provides a means to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist groups by authorising the US government to designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.