The Mumbai terrorist attack by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) was out of Al Qaeda play book, a top American counter-terrorism official has said, adding that the terrorist outfit now has global ambition.
“We haven't said that the LeT is directly targeting the US. But it is true that LeT’s recent targets, particularly in Mumbai, was out of the Al Qaeda play book," Daniel Benjamin, co-coordinator, office of counter-terrorism in the State Department said.
"Of course six Americans were killed there, and there were international targets, and there clearly was a desire to kill Westerners, Israelis, you know, the usual kinds of targets," he said at a State Department news conference.
The LeT, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the other that espouse in some way or another an ideology that is either identical or a variant of Al Qaeda ideology have always had this choice of going after the near enemy or their far enemy.
“According to the circumstances under which they're operating, they may find it more advantageous to choose one above the other," he said in response to a question.
Earlier, the State Department's annual Congressionally mandated country reports on terrorism for 2009 said the LeT’s connection with Al Qaeda has added a further dimension to the terrorist threat landscape since its activities have made clear its deepening commitment to undertake bold, mass-casualty operations against American and other Western targets.
“Since the 2008 Mumbai attack, analysts have deepening concern that it could evolve into a genuine global threat. Headley and others indicate the diversity, mobility, and versatility of self-selecting recruits whom organisations can pick to meet strategic goals.
Organisations may set these goals, but their training resources and recruits are increasingly modular and interchangeable," said the State Department. Mr Benjamin said that the US is concerned about any indications of the spread of radicalism in Pakistan.
“Many of these areas that are identified as safe havens have actually had pockets of militants in them, radical terrorists, what have you, for some time,” he said. “We have seen some areas that have been more worrisome than before.
The Pakistani interior minister recently spoke about southern Punjab. So there are plenty of areas of concern," he said. "The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Baluchistan, North West Frontier Province, southern Punjab, and other parts of Pakistan continued to be used as safe havens for Al Qaeda terrorists, Afghan insurgents, and other terrorist groups,” the report said.