30 trained for Mumbai attacks

Telegraph:

Ten men took part in the attacks, which began on Nov 26. But Indian police said that they now believe that another 20 people were selected for suicide missions including the Mumbai operation.

Deven Bharti, deputy commissioner of the Mumbai police, said that the whereabouts of the other 20 men is unknown. But he added: "Another 20 were ready to die This is the very disturbing part of it."

It was the first time that Indian police had put a figure on the larger number of suicide recruits believed to have been despatched by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

While the group and its leaders have denied involvement, Pakistan's government revealed that it was questioning a second high-level LeT figure who is suspected as acting as the key link between the terrorist group and elements within its own intelligence services.

Zarrar Shah has been accused of playing a central role in the LeT's attack on Mumbai, which killed 171 people. India claims that the 10 terrorists that attacked hotels and other prominent sites in the city used mobile phones to seek guidance from Shah as the 60-hour clash took place.

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Reports have said that the gunmen's phones were enabled with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. VOIP uses complicated digital codes which makes calls harder to trace and tap using traditional listening technology. US and Indian officials have also concluded that Shah was one of LeT's primary contacts with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). "There is no modicum of doubt about the complicity of elements of Pakistan, including the ISI," an Indian official said.

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It is possible that the people in charge of putting this group together picked the top third of their class of 30 for the mission. I think it will he hard for the to use the other 20 right now with so much attention focused on LET.

It is interesting that despite the use of VOIP calls the US was still able to trace the calls and may have broken the conversations. That would be a real problem for the terrorist.