Chicago, June 1
LeT operative David Coleman Headley today told a US court that he had conducted a surveillance of the German Bakery in Pune and identified Chabad houses in Delhi, Pushkar and Pune which could be bombed.

Testifying during the trial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Mumbai attack co-accused, Headley said he made a video of the German Bakery which was bombed on February 13, 2010, killing at least 17 persons and injuring 60 others.

While Headley was under arrest by the FBI, the German Bakery was attacked. Headley, who ended his testimony, said he had made a list of Chabad houses in Delhi, Pushkar and Pune which could be targeted.

The German Bakery is located near the Chabad House and an Osho Ashram in Pune. The German Bakery blast was a part of the Karachi Project, an LeT project with the Indian Mujahideen.

Earlier Headley had told FBI that he did not carry out surveillance of the bakery, but later confessed to the Indian agents of National Investigation Agency that he had conducted its surveillance.

Headley has pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism charges related to the deadly 26/11 attacks and other plots in the wake of his 2009 arrest here.

Headley also said that he had plans to write a book and make a movie on the events in his life. Rana’s lawyer Patrick Blegen said that Headley had told several people including his wife so. “If I write a book, I can make huge amounts of money,” Headley said.

The Pakistani-American said he made a “fool” of Rana by involving him in the 26/11 Mumbai attack conspiracy. “I made a fool of him (Rana). Poor fellow was stuck in this for no fault of his. I made a fool of him in getting to assist me on what I did. I made a fool of him,” Headley told Rana’s lawyer.

While Headley has pleaded guilty, Rana has maintained that he is not guilty in the charge of “support to terrorism”.

Defence attorneys said Headley lied to the law enforcement agencies and implicated Rana in the plot in a bid to save his life.

Headley was cross-examined by lawyers of Rana, a Canadian of Pakistani-origin who is standing trial at a Chicago court here after being slapped with a dozen charges in connection with the Mumbai attacks in which 166 persons were killed.

The defence lawyers said Headley lived multiple lives and used his friend over the years. Rana and Headley met as teenagers at a Pakistani military school.

Headley conceded that he was secretly researching on Internet at Rana’s house. “As expected this guy has a very troubled history and past,” Blegen said.

“It’s my sense that he answered the questions affirmatively because we had a stack of papers to contradict him. He lied before in the past,” Blegen said Headley expressed remorse at the killing of Indian people at the trial.

“You are remorseful for what you have done?”, asked Blegen. “Yes, I feel bad about my grievances and the way I went to address them,” Headley said. — PTI 

Sanaa, June 1
Republican Guard shelling and pre-dawn street battles between government forces and rival tribal fighters killed at least 41 persons in the capital today. There were growing signs of disarray in beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s military. Fighting raged until 5 am local time, and witnesses said Presidential Guard units shelled the headquarters of an army brigade responsible for guarding sensitive government institutions.

Army officers who have defected to the opposition say the government suspected the brigade commander was about to join forces with the movement to oust Saleh.

The 41 dead included combatants from both sides of the conflict, said the medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The fighting engulfed the Hassaba neighbourhood that contains the family compound of influential opposition tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, and to the north of that district where Republican Guard units protect Saleh’s former residence. — AP

Pakistan has formed a commission to probe the killing of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a covert US raid in Abbottabad and to determine the nature and causes of lapses that have embarrassed the government.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani constituted the five-member commission, proposed by the joint session of Parliament on May 14, to investigate the Abbottabad incident. The commission will be headed by second most senior judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Javed Iqbal. Justice Iqbal is already hearing the case of missing persons in which country’s secret agencies are allegedly involved.

The other members of the commission are former Supreme Court judge Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed (retd), former police official Abbas Khan and former career diplomat Ashraf Jahangir Qazi, who once served as the High Commissioner in Delhi. Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi will work as the secretary of the commission.

Interestingly, the powers of the ‘independent’ commission have not been included in the terms of reference, especially those required to summon any person and seek relevant record from any government department, including military organisations. No deadline for submission of report has been set.