India Releases Dossiers on LeT Handlers in Headley-Rana Case, Exposes ISI Connections

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Trials
Posted on Mon May 09, 2011 at 07:59:23 PM EST
Tags: David Headley, Tahawwur Hussain Rana (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

India today released its dossiers on the five new defendants in the upcoming federal terror trial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, charged with conspiracy in the Mumbai bombings and planned attack in Denmark. Rana will be on trial by himself, as none of the others have been arrested. David Headley, aka Daood Giliani, who was originally a defendant, will be the star witness against Rana, having cooperated and pleaded guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and extradition to India or Pakistan.

The dossiers, available here, expose the connections between Lashkar e Tayyiba (leT) and Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). [More...]

[A]ccording to the dossier released by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in New Delhi, Major Iqbal is suspected to be an ISI officer, who was posted in Lahore during 2007 and 2008. “Major Iqbal was handling David Coleman Headley on behalf of the ISI for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai,” reads the MHA dossier.

The five are Major Iqbal, Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal and another man identified as “Lashkar Member D”. The U.S. added them as defendants in a Superseding Indictment on April 21.

For more on what may come out (and what the U.S. doesn't want to come out) during the Rana trial which begins May 16, go here.

For more on the alleged involvement of Pakistan's ISI and the Mumbai attacks, don't miss Pro Publica's Pakistan and the Mumbai Attacks: The Untold Story by Sebastian Rotella. For later and shorter recaps and new questions about the ISI raised by Osama bin Laden's killing, see Rotella's latest at Pro Publica, Pakistan’s Terror Ties at Center of Upcoming Chicago Trial.

Our many posts about the Headley-Rana case are available here.