Prisoner Admits Was Voice Behind Chabad Attack

The voice had long haunted Indian police investigating Mumbai’s deadly 2008 terrorist attack. They had repeatedly listened to a tape of cell phone intercepts containing chilling words from one of the men guiding 10 terrorists through the gun-blazing rampage that killed 166 people in India’s financial capital. “Pass this message to the media—`This is just the trailer; the real film is yet to come,’” the voice said.

Anti-terror police engaged in one of India’s largest investigations had no idea who the man was, only that he had a Mumbai accent and used Hindi words unusual for Urdu speakers like the attackers on the ground.

Police believe they finally have the man behind the disembodied voice after ferreting out the suspect from Saudi Arabia where he was hiding, according to officials close to the investigation. They say he had given himself away to the police by opening a Facebook account under his real name—Syed Zabiuddin Ansari.

Ansari – an Indian citizen whose aliases include Abu Humza, Abu Jindal and Abu Jundal – was arrested at New Delhi airport on June 21 after Saudi Arabia agreed to hand him to Indian officials and put him on a flight home.

Ansari, during his interrogation, has reportedly admitted that he gave instructions to Abu Al Kasa, one of the ten terrorists who carried the mayhem across Mumbai in 2008, to kill Jewish people in Chabad House on November 27.

During interrogations, he reportedly confessed his role in the country’s worst terror attack and admitted that he was present in the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) control room in Karachi and was giving direction to the 10 terrorists who carried out the strike.

The 26/11 handler gave a deep insight into the situation at ‘Karachi control room’ monitoring the Mumbai attack, sources said.

Ansari reportedly told the investigative agencies that officials of ace Pakistani intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) ran the control room along with senior Lashkar commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. Ansari had reportedly worked in close tandem with Lakhvi.

During the interrogations, the LeT handler reportedly admitted that ISI destroyed 26/11 control room in Karachi after the arrest of Lakhvi from Pakistani Kashmir.

According to national security agencies, Ansari is the highest ranked Indian in terror outfit LeT and his questioning is proving to be a key link in establishing the involvement of Pakistan state actors in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Intelligence source indicate that that he was recruited by a Kashmir-based Lashkar operative in 2005. A young Ansari is said to have been indoctrinated in those post-Gujarat-riot years. He allegedly got involved in planning for the 26/11 Mumbai terror operation at the beginning of 2008.

Sources say Ansari, as the Indian in the group, was the one who trained the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on what to wear, what to say etc. He who belongs to Beed in Maharashtra, speaks Marathi, Urdu, Hindi and also a bit of Arabic.

Ansari was recently arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in connection with terrorism related cases.