[Reader-list] Dawood directly involved in Mumbai attack: Russian intel

[Fatima फ़ातिमा]

Dawood directly involved in Mumbai attack: Russia intelligence
18 Dec 2008, 1346 hrs IST, Times Now

NEW DELHI: The Russian government has issued a statement saying that
it believes that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was directly involved
in the
Mumbai terror attacks and his network was used by the terrorists to
carry out the multiple attacks.

Moscow, which has been sharing intelligence with India, further
believes that Dawood's drug network, which runs through Afghanistan,
was used to finance the terror attack.

Russia has also gone public with its intelligence inputs that point to
the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to be operating his
vast network from Karachi, in the Mumbai terror attacks.

"The gathered inputs testify that regional drug baron Dawood Ibrahim
had provided his logistics network for preparing and carrying out the
Mumbai terror attacks," Russia's federal anti-narcotics service
director Viktor Ivanov said in an interview to Russian government
daily Rossiskaya Gazeta. He had further said that the Mumbai attacks
were a 'burning example' of how the illegal drug trafficking network
was used for carrying out terror activities.

Special representative of the Russian president for international
co-operation in the fight against terrorism, Anatoly Safonov, who led
the Russian delegation at the meeting of the joint working group, has
said that the drug network, which finances the terror network, was a
joint problem for India and Russia and that the two countries
co-operate more closely in the area.

This was reflected in a joint statement released after the talks. The
two sides have agreed to work together to track terror funds. "The two
sides noted that curbing financing of terrorism is a key component of
the counter-terrorism strategy and agreed to strengthen bilateral
interaction in this field," the joint statement said.

Safonov has said that Russia is willing to work with India to "inject
new dynamism" in the convention that has been held up over the
definition of terrorism. The Russian side had also offered to explain
to Indian officials the steps taken by Russia after the Beslan school
terrorist attack.