November 25, 2009

Man detained at behest of FBI may have Rana connection(Illyas Kashmiri captured?)

Very huge if confirmed..

Ottawa Citizen

The fast-moving international case against a Pakistani-Canadian businessman charged with plotting a terror attack in Denmark and suspected of others in India moved into Pakistan on Monday night with news of the capture of another suspect.

Illyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani military officer and now a reputed commander of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) militant group, is believed to have been detained by Pakistan at the behest of the FBI, according to an unconfirmed report in The Times of India.

It's not clear when and where Kashmiri may have been taken into custody or if he is among as many as five people reportedly arrested by Pakistan in connection with the plot in recent weeks, including some former or current Pakistani military officials.

If confirmed, Kashmiri's arrest will expand the global nature of the case, which already has connections to Chicago, Copenhagen, Mumbai and Kanata. It would also highlight the intercontinental reach of suspected terrorist operations.

Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, and Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, 49, were arrested in Chicago by the FBI last month and accused of plotting the murder of an editor and cartoonist at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which ran controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammad in 2005. They face charges of conspiring to provide material support for terrorism and providing material support to terrorism.

UPDATE(NEWBIE): Picked up TWO MONTHS AGO
Denying a report that serving officers were picked up in connection with the case that was being probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Major-General Athar Abbas, the military spokesman, said only one retired Major was picked two months ago and was now being questioned by intelligence agencies.


By Newbie at November 25, 2009 03:44 AM | | l digg this