In what might explain the increased American interest in arrested terrorist Abu Jundal, he made the startling disclosure to interrogators recently that the 26/11 terrorists were trained by hardcore Al Qaeda militants at a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba camp near the Pakistan-Iran border.
Jundal, the highest-ranking Indian commander of LeT, claimed there was a “great degree of coordination now between Lashkar, Al Qaeda and even the Taliban”. These disclosures are part of Jundal’s interrogation report, details of which have been accessed by this newspaper.
A top government functionary said that since the United States now views Lashkar to be as much of a threat as the Taliban and Al Qaeda, it has been keeping close tabs on all developments related to Jundal. “The US agencies are very keen to know if Jundal can provide more details about Al Qaeda and the Taliban,” the official added.
The external affairs and home ministries are, meanwhile, busy finalising documents to secure the extradition of Mohammed Fasih, whose arrest in Saudi Arabia has been confirmed. Fasih is wanted for the Chinaswamy Stadium blast in Bengaluru and the Jama Masjid attack in Delhi. Sources said the government will try to get the Saudis to deport Fasih even faster than Jundal.