ISI handler wanted Mumbai airport among targets (Third Lead)
May 25th, 2011 - 2:02 am ICT by IANSChicago, May 25 (IANS) A handler of Pakistani spy agency ISI wanted to include Mumbai international airport in the list of targets in the 2008 terror attack, Pakistani American David Coleman Headley told a Chicago court Tuesday.
In fact, “Major Iqbal” of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) expressed his disappointment at the non-inclusion of the airport when Headley met him in Lahore in June 2008, five months before the attack, the prosecution’s star witness said.
On the second day of his testimony in the trial of his one-time friend Pakistan-born Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, Headley said when he met Iqbal “he told me to have a detailed surveillance and seems to be upset that the Mumbai airport was not included”.
However, Major Iqbal approved the entire list. Prior to meeting Iqbal, Headley met his LeT handler Sajid Mir who provided him a list of targets to which Chabad House Jewish community centre in Mumbai was added.
Iqbal told him that Chabad House was added because it was the front office of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in Mumbai.
Headley, son of a Pakistani father and an American mother, changed his given name of Daood Gilani in 2006 to scout targets for the attack without arousing suspicion,
The list of targets given him by Sajid included Taj Mahal hotel, Chabad House, Maharashtra state police headquarters and naval head station.
“Iqbal wanted to me to go back to India. He told me to check the list being provided to me and check the landing site. Iqbal did not give me the list. It was given to me by Sajid. I had several meetings with Iqbal and Sajid before returning to Mumbai,” Headley said.
Headley said he did not discuss the list of targets with anybody else, except Pasha who was very supportive and happy and wished him luck.
Headley said he also met LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. “He just wished me luck. For all the actions that would be taken against the Muslims, this would be a revenge for that. This is what he meant,” Headley said, adding said he returned to Mumbai in end-June and the beginning of July and started working on the task that was given to him - scouting various targets.
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