Kasab is now under constant interrogation, filling out details of the assault and the attackers' training in the hill areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
THE only gunman in the Mumbai attacks to be captured alive, Ajmal Mohammad Amin Kasab, has said all 10 attackers used Arabic code names, concealing their genuine identities. Each code name was related to the role assigned.
The team leaders were Zaim and Nasi Al-Din, meaning 'general' and 'protector of Islam'. The duo not only masterminded the mission that resulted in a revised death toll of 188, but were also the vanguard, leading the charge into the famed Taj Mahal hotel.
Promised US$1,250
MUMBAI - THE only gunman captured during the terror attack on Mumbai says he was promised that his impoverished family would get US$1,250 (S$1,900) if he died fighting for militant Islam, security officials said on Wednesday.
The captive, 21-year-old Ajmal Amir Kasab, is from Faridkot village in the Punjab region of Pakistan, according to the two Indian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss details gleaned during a week of interrogation.
The man who led the attack on the other key target, the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, was Al-Haman, 'happy and enthusiastic'. Another was Al-Abbas, 'fearless'.
Kasab is now under constant interrogation, filling out details of the assault and the attackers' training in the hill areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in India yesterday in a bid to ease regional tensions. She called on Pakistan to show 'resolve and urgency', urging international cooperation in the investigation into the attacks.
'Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency, and cooperate fully and transparently,' she told the media.
Indian and US officials have pointed the finger at Pakistani-based groups and Dr Rice invoked the spectre of Al-Qaeda, saying: 'Whether there is a direct Al-Qaeda hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which Al-Qaeda participates.'
The top US diplomat was to meet Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and other top officials. India is demanding that Pakistan hand over 20 suspected terrorists believed to be living in the country.
However, Pakistani President Asif Zardari said any of the 20 would be tried in Pakistan if there was evidence of wrongdoing. He promised to 'look into all the possibility of any proof' but insisted the suspects would be dealt with under Pakistani law.
'At the moment, these are just names of individuals: No proof and no investigation,' he told CNN's Larry King on Tuesday.
'If we had the proof, we would try them in our courts and we would try them in our land and we would sentence them,' he said.
He also 'very much doubted' that Kasab, the surviving gunman, was Pakistani as India alleges. -- The Statesman/ANN, AP
