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An Intricate Plot Unleashed in Mumbai, a New Threat to the West

(ProPublica-Washington Post) Sebastian Rotella - Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley set up shop in Mumbai in September 2006 to begin undercover reconnaissance for a sophisticated attack that would take two years to plan. He had spent three years refining his clandestine skills in the terrorist training camps of the Pakistani Lashkar-i-Taiba militant group. Lashkar escalated its war on the West with a 2008 attack on Mumbai that targeted Americans, Europeans and Jews as well as Indians. In December 2007, Headley's estranged fourth wife, a Moroccan, told officials at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad that she believed he was a terrorist. She made references to training and suicide bombings and described his frequent travel to Mumbai, U.S. law enforcement officials say. Headley's mentor, Sajid Mir, oversaw the Mumbai attack. Indian intelligence officers were able to intercept and record nearly 300 calls. Mir's voice dominated the conversations. The Jewish center known as the Chabad House was attacked about an hour after the assault began. The gunmen shot Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and his pregnant wife, Rivka, 28, as well as two visiting rabbis from New York, Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum and Ben-Zion Chroman. Two female hostages were still alive at Chabad House: Yocheved Orpaz, an Israeli grandmother, and Norma Rabinovich, a Mexican tourist. Mir told a gunman to hand Rabinovich the phone. He ordered her to propose a prisoner exchange to Israeli diplomats. Hours later, Mir gave the order to kill her. A gunman named Akasha sounded reluctant. Mir turned icy when he learned the two women were still alive. He demanded: "Have you done the job or not?" Akasha executed the women as Mir listened, according to the transcript. The gunfire echoed over the phone.
2010-11-16 10:05:29
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