ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Troops raided a militant camp and arrested a suspected mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, officials said Monday.
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is allegedly a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned group blamed for other attacks on its soil. Analysts say it was created in the 1980s by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies to act as a proxy fighting force in Indian Kashmir.
Many analysts suspect elements within Pakistan’s intelligence agencies keep some links with Lashkar and other militants, either to use against India or in neighboring Afghanistan.
The United States says Lashkar is linked to al-Qaida. In May, the U.S. blocked the assets of Lakhvi and three other alleged members of the group, including its leader, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.
India says the 10 gunmen who killed 171 people in the country’s financial hub on Nov. 26-29 were Pakistani members of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Washington said Sunday the attack was planned in Pakistan.
Backed by a helicopter, the troops grabbed Lakhvi and at least 11 other suspected militants Sunday in a raid on the riverside camp run by Lashkar-e-Taiba, two officials said.
Indian officials say the sole Mumbai attacker captured alive has told them that Lakhvi recruited him for the mission and that Lakhvi and another militant planned the operation.
The U.S. Treasury Department alleged that Lakhvi directed Lashkar-e-Taiba operations in Chechnya, Bosnia and Southeast Asia and in 2004 allegedly sent operatives and funds to attack U.S. forces in Iraq.
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