During 26/11, FBI unearthed extensive links to Pak

Washington, Jul 12: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that it had a key role to play in India's Nov 2008 fight against ten terrorists, who took Mumbai hostage for over 60 hours and went on a killing spree.

Indian government sought the FBI's help during the Nov 26-28 attack, and the bureau deployed eight agents from Los Angeles as well as technicians from Virginia, FBI's Supervisory Special Agent Anthony Tindall told members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and others last week.

Miami Herald quoted Tindall as informing those gathered at the Sunrise Civic Center that the FBI agents and technicians quickly gathered crucial information from GPS, cellphones, satellite phones, Internet data, financial records, witnesses and boats and what they found led them to Pakistan.

"One of the things we learned from this operation is that we needed to bring them something they couldn't do themselves,'' Tindall told the audience.

"A lot of the information led back to Pakistan," he said.

Strengthening the argument of many in India that the Mumbai police were not armed enough to tackle the 26/11 terrorists, the agent identified the unarmed status of the security personnel as a disabling factor that prevented them from stopping the two day carnage right in the beginning.

"The crippling flaw in the Mumbai police's defense against the initial assault was that its officers didn't even carry weapons - leading to dozens of people being mowed down at five-star hotels, a train station and a Jewish center before the Indian National Police's tactical squads killed all but one of the terrorists," the agent said.

"Half of these guys weren't armed during the initial assault in Mumbai," said Coral Gables Sgt Alan Matas, who was one among those who echoed Tindall.

On the lone surviving 26/11 terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab, who is detained in India, Tindall said he was a "an incredible source of information".

OneIndia News