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Tahawwur Rana wanted Pakistan’s ‘Nishan-e-Haider’ award for nine LeT terrorists killed in 26/11 action

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New Delhi, April 11: Tahawwur Rana had aspired for Pakistan’s highest award for gallantry in battle ‘Nishan-e-Haider’ for the nine Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who carried out the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008 and were gunned down by Indian security forces.

The US Department of Justice, in a statement, has released a bit of intercepted conversation between Tahawwur Rana and Headley after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

The statement says, “After the attacks were complete, Rana allegedly told Headley that the Indians ‘deserved it’. In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists who had been killed committing the attacks, saying that ‘[t]hey should be given Nishan-e-Haider’- Pakistan’s ‘highest award for gallantry in battle’, which is reserved for fallen soldiers.”

The statement said that Rana is to stand trial in India on “10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai”.

Rana is described as a convicted terrorist, a Canadian citizen and a native of Pakistan by the US.

The US on Wednesday extradited Rana to India, which it said was a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks.

In a detailed statement, the US has said that Rana, 64, is charged in India with numerous offences, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery, related to his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks committed by LeT, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

Describing the terror attacks, the US statement reads: Between November 26 and 29, 2008, ten LeT terrorists carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. They infiltrated the city by sea and then broke into teams, dispersing to multiple locations. Attackers at a train station fired guns and threw grenades into crowds. Attackers at two restaurants shot indiscriminately at patrons. Attackers at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel gunned people down and detonated explosives. Attackers also shot and killed people at a Jewish community center.

When the terror finally subsided, 166 victims, including six Americans, were dead, along with all but one of the LeT terrorists. Hundreds more were injured, and Mumbai sustained more than $1.5 billion in property damage.

The US said the attacks “were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history”.

Ahead of the extradition, India had handed over detailed investigation reports, documents and evidence to prove Rana’s involvement in the 2008 terror attack.

The US statement says that “India alleges that Rana facilitated a fraudulent cover so that his childhood friend David Coleman Headley (Headley), a U.S. citizen born Daood Gilani, could freely travel to Mumbai for the purpose of conducting surveillance of potential attack sites for LeT. As India alleges, Headley had received training from LeT members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with LeT about plans to attack Mumbai.”

Among other things, Rana allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the manager of the office, despite Headley’s having no immigration experience. On two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information Rana knew to be false, the statement mentions.

Rana also allegedly supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of Rana’s business. “Over the course of more than two years, Headley allegedly repeatedly met with Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT’s responses to Headley’s activities, and LeT’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai”, the statement further adds.

US Department of State Spokesperson Tammy Bruce has said that on April 9, the United States extradited Rana, 64, to India “to face justice for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.”

She said, “The United States has long supported India’s efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice, and as President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism.”

International News

Thailand, Cambodia Clash With Jets, Rockets, Artillery In Deadly Border Row

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Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, killing a civilian, in a dramatic escalation of a long-running border row between the two neighbours.

The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples.

The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.

The conflict blazed up on Thursday, with Cambodia firing rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambling F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

Six jets were deployed from Ubon Ratchathani province, hitting two “Cambodian military targets on the ground”, according to Thai military deputy spokesperson Ritcha Suksuwanon. 

The Thai prime minister’s office said a Cambodian artillery shell hit a house over the border, killing one civilian and wounding three others, including a five-year-old child.

Both sides blamed the other for starting the fighting, which erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

“The Thai military violated the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by launching an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend the nation’s sovereign territory,” defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said in a statement.

“In response, the Cambodian armed forces exercised their legitimate right to self-defence, in full accordance with international law, to repel the Thai incursion and protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Thai military blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first, and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin’s Kap Choeng district, wounding three people.

According to the Thai military, the clashes began around 7:35 am (0035 GMT) when a unit guarding Ta Muen temple heard a Cambodian drone overhead.

Later, six armed Cambodian soldiers, including one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, approached a barbed-wired fence in front of the Thai post, the army said.

Thai soldiers shouted to warn them, the army said, but around 8:20 am, Cambodian forces opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple, about 200 metres from the Thai base. 

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said “the situation requires careful handling, and we must act in accordance with international law”.

“We will do our best to protect our sovereignty,” he said.

Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible” unless they had urgent reasons to remain, in a Facebook post.

Long-Running Row 

The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. 

Wechayachai said an investigation by the Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed border area — a claim denied by Phnom Penh.

On Thursday morning, Cambodia announced it was downgrading ties to “the lowest level”, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

Recent weeks have seen a series of tit-for-tat swipes by both sides, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports.

The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct.

A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime ruler and father of Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.

Last week, Hun Manet announced that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.

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International News

Mumbai Police Reach Kapil Sharma’s House After Kap’s Cafe Firing In Canada

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Hours after shots were fired at comedian Kapil Sharma’s eatery, Kap’s Cafe, in Canada, the Mumbai Police on Friday reached his house in Mumbai to question him about the incident. Around 1 am on July 9 (Canada time), several rounds were fired at the cafe, located in Surrey.

Khalistani terrorist Harjeet Singh Laddi claimed the responsibility for the attack, and demanded an apology from Kapil for his alleged objectionable remarks.

the attackers felt that Nihang Sikhs were insulted on Kapil’s show. The report also mentioned that the attackers said the comedian ignored their calls seeking an apology, and that shots were fired at his eatery to warn him.

Kap’s Cafe team issues statement

Kapil is yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

The management of the eatery, however, took to their social media handles and wrote, “We opened Kap’s Cafe with hopes of bringing warmth, community, and joy through delicious coffee and friendly conversation. To have violence intersect with that dream is heartbreaking. We are processing this shock but we are not giving up (sic).”

It further stated, “Your kind words, prayers, and memories shared via DM mean more than you know. This cafe exists because of your belief in what we’re building together. Let’s stand firm against violence and ensure Kap’s Cafe remains a place of warmth and community. From all of us at Kap’s Cafe, thank you and see you soon, under better skies (sic).”

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Iran warns it will target Israel’s ‘secret nuclear sites’ if attacked

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Tehran, June 10: Iran’s top security body warned that its armed forces would immediately target Israel’s “secret nuclear facilities” if the Islamic Republic comes under military attack, following claims it has obtained “sensitive Israeli intelligence.”

The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) issued the statement days after Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said Iran had acquired a “significant cache” of Israeli documents through intelligence operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the council, months of intelligence gathering had enabled Iran’s armed forces to identify high-value Israeli targets for potential retaliatory strikes, should Israel initiate military action against Iranian interests.

“This forms part of a broader strategic initiative aimed at countering disinformation by hostile actors and reinforcing Iran’s deterrent capabilities,” the SNSC said.

Tehran’s access to Israeli intelligence would allow it to swiftly target “concealed nuclear sites” in the event of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, the council said, adding that the information also supports proportionate retaliation against attacks on Iran’s economic or military assets.

Israel is believed by many to possess nuclear weapons, though it has never officially confirmed or denied this, maintaining a longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity.

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