Usman Ghani's role in Mumbai 26/11 attacks unclear

On April 10th news reports stated that a bomber of Pakistani origin linked to the Mumbai 26/11 attacks had slipped into EU.

The report also stated that he along with an Algerian were part of an ISIS strike team which was planning a series of attacks across Europe.

It is for the first time that the name of Usman Ghani is coming up in connection with the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. None of the investigators in the Mumbai police or the NIA are aware of this name.

Further the report also goes on to state that he was a bomb maker for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The grenades used in the 26/11 attacks were China made and supplied to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba by the Pakistan army.

Role in 26/11 unclear:

The reports state that he was part of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and then the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Today this person is part of the ISIS.

The Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are ideologically different terrorist groups. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba subscribes to the ahle hadees school of thought while the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi follows the Deobandi and Salafi school of thought.

Intelligence Bureau officials in India when asked about Ghani say that he was indeed a bomb maker for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but there is no information about his role in the 26/11 attack.

The only information about Ghani is that he had joined the ISIS while in Pakistan and went on to become a part of the hit squad in a bid to carry out attacks in Europe.

The other aspect that is confusing where Ghani is concerned is that he has been described as a bomb maker for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

While that bit of information is correct, what is confusing is that the use of bombs were limited in the 26/11 attack.

There were grenades that were used during the attack. Moreover, the hurling of grenades was more to distract the police.

The grenades according to the probe were China made and sourced by the Pakistan army and later passed on to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.