US govt slaps sanctions on 8 LeT leaders

The United States has slapped sanctions on the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba's top eight commanders, including the Mumbai terrorist attack mastermind Sajid Mir and its founder Hafiz Saeed's son.

Announcing the sanctions, the US said that LeT, despite being designated as a foreign terrorist organisation in January 2002, continues to 'operate in Pakistan' and throughout the region and engage in terrorist activities worldwide.

'The LeT has conducted numerous terrorist acts against Pakistani, Indian, Afghan and US interests and is responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, and the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings that killed more than 180 people,' the Department of Treasury said.

Besides Mir, other LeT leaders slapped with sanctions are Abdullah Mujahid, Ahmed Yaqub, Hafiz Khalid Walid, Qari Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Amir Hamza, Abdullah Muntazir, and Talha Saeed, the son of the LeT leader Saeed.

'Today's targets also include military commanders directly responsible for the murderous 2008 Mumbai attacks as well as attacks on coalition and Afghan forces. Today's designations are designed to undermine LeT's leadership and support networks of LeT that have planned terrorist attacks around the world,' the Treasury Department said.

'Today's action against LeT is Treasury's most comprehensive to date against this group and includes individuals participating in all aspects of LeT's operations from commanders planning attacks to those managing LeT's relationships with other terrorist groups,' the under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David S Cohen said.

'Attacking LeT's facilitation networks is particularly important, since charitable donations LeT raises in Pakistan – its primary revenue source – are used to fuel LeT's militant operations,' Cohen said.