London: The ISI was heavily involved in preparations for the Mumbai terror attacks, according to classified Indian government documents obtained by 'The Guardian'.
The newspaper said that a 109-page report into the interrogation of key suspect David Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist arrested last year and detained in the US, makes detailed claims of ISI support for the attacks.
"Under questioning, Headley described dozens of meetings between officers of the main Pakistani military intelligence service, the ISI, and senior militants from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group responsible for the Mumbai attacks", the report said.
Headley reportedly claimed that a key motivation for the ISI in aiding the attacks was to bolster militant organisations with strong links to the Pakistani state and security establishment who were being marginalised by more extreme radical groups.
"Headley, who undertook surveillance of the targets in Mumbai for the operation, claims that at least two of his missions were partly paid for by the ISI and that he regularly reported to the spy agency.
However, the documents suggest that supervision of the militants by the ISI was often chaotic and that the most senior officers of the agency may have been unaware at least of the scale and ambition of the operation before it was launched", the report said.
According to the report, European and American security services now feared that LeT was moving from what has been a largely regional agenda focused on Jammu and Kashmir to a global agenda involving strikes against the west or western interests.
"The documents suggest the fierce internal argument within the organisation over its strategic direction is being won by hardliners", the report added.
Headley reportedly described how "a debate had begun among the terrorist outfits" and "a clash of ideology" leading to "splits".
"The aggression and commitment to jihad shown by several splinter groups in Afghanistan influenced many committed fighters to leave [LeT]," Headley is quoted as having said.
"I understand this compelled the LeT to consider a spectacular terrorist strike in India".
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