Mumbai attacks suspect arrested in India: reports

-bangkokpost

Indian police have arrested a key suspect accused of co-ordinating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed and more than 300 wounded, media reports said Monday. Hamza was allegedly one of the handlers based in Karachi, Pakistan who issued instructions by telephone to the 10 Islamist gunmen as they stormed two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a restaurant and a train station in Mumbai.The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted unnamed police sources as confirming the arrest of Abu Hamza, also known as Sayed Zabiuddin, an Indian-born member of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In this photograph taken on Nov' 29, 2008,
a security official stands alert as smoke
and flames billow out from a section
of The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. Indian
police have arrested a key suspect accused
of co-ordinating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks
in which 166 people were killed and more
than 300 wounded, media reports said Monday.

Hamza, who has used a string of aliases, was arrested at Delhi international airport on June 21 when he arrived from the Middle East and he has since been remanded in custody, PTI reported.Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only gunman caught alive during the 60-hour assault on Mumbai in November 2008, was handed down a death sentence by the Bombay High Court last year.

PTI described Hamza as the 30-year-old "Hindi tutor" to the gunmen and said that he came from the western state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. Delhi police spokesmen told AFP they were unable to immediately comment on reports about the arrest. India blames the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit, which is banned in Pakistan, for training, equipping and financing the Mumbai gunmen with support from "elements" in the Pakistan military.

Pakistan has indicted seven alleged perpetrators over the attacks but their trial, which began in 2009, has been beset by numerous delays triggering Indian accusations that the process is a sham. The United States in April offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the conviction of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba who lives openly in Pakistan and is accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks.