FBI wants to question Fahim Ansari for 26/11 terror strikes

Sumir Kaul

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Officials of Federal Bureau of investigations (FBI) have made a request to interrogate two
militants arrested earlier by the Indian northern state of Uttar Pradesh Police and questioned by Mumbai Police in connection with the 26/11 terror strikes.

The FBI made the request through proper channels for
questioning Fahim Arshad Ansari and Sabbauddin, militants of
banned Lashker-e-Taiba, who were brought to Mumbai in December
last year as a follow up to the probe into the 26/11 attack,
official sources said.

35-year-old Ansari had told his interrogators that he
was asked by Pakistan's ISI to identify all the terror-hit
places on "Googlemap.com" and is believed to share the extreme
mindset of Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda chief.

He claimed to be an ardent follower of Laden and had
grown a beard like the global terrorist. "After joining my job
in Dubai, I also used to discuss about Jehadi activities and
appreciate the actions of Osama. My co-workers called me as
Osama as I was keeping a beard like him," the militant is said
to have told in his interrogation.

The FBI now wants to know whether the Mumbai terror
strikes was a deep-rooted conspiracy for which planning had
been done from earlier last year. Ansari and another Lashkar
militant, Sabbauddin, were arrested by central security
agencies in February and April last year respectively.

The FBI has already questioned Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman
Kasab, the lone Lashker-e-Taiba militant involved in November
26 terror strikes, for over nine hours recently to ascertain
about his role and handlers in Pakistan.

Fahim was arrested on February 12 last year in
connection with the New Year eve attack on a CRPF camp in
Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Five militants of Lashker-e-Taiba
were arrested along with him.

Originally a resident of Goregaon in western part of
India Mumbai, Fahim had reportedly made arrangement for all
the Lashker militants to stay in the metropolis.

Fahim told the interrogators that at Baitul Mujahideen
camp, located near Shivai Nallah in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir,
he was shown Mumbai in the Google earth map and was asked to
point out important places in Mumbai.

He marked places like offices of Mumbai Police
Commissioner, Director General of Police, Gateway of India,
Colaba, Tajmahal hotel, Churchgate railway station, Reliance
energy and AKSA beach.

Besides this, Fahim said the Baitul Mujahideen camp
commander, identified as Kahafa, was keen to know about the
availability of taxis near the DGP's office.

The camp commanders were also interested in finding out
height of the airport wall, wire fencing and the location of
aircraft runway from the nearest building, Fahim told his
interrogators.

During their marathon nine-hour questioning, the FBI
had asked Kasab all the details about his native places even
including the lanes and by-lanes of the area. Kasab hails from
Ukkad area of Faridkot district in Pakistan.

The 21-year-old Iman told his interrogators that he had
started his career as a petty thief in Lahore, where he was
staying with his brother after dropping out of school in 2000
after which he came across some Jamaat-ul-Dawa members while
they were purchasing arms from a market in Rawalpindi, a
moment that changed the course of his life. PTI SKL