SIMI leader points at Jaish, Lashkar help in blasts

For the first time, the Jaipur blast accused and so-called 8220;emir8221; of SIMI, Shahbaz Hussain, has pointed towards the international linkages of the proscribed group...

For the first time, the Jaipur blast accused and so-called 8220;emir8221; of SIMI, Shahbaz Hussain, has pointed towards the international linkages of the proscribed group, stating that absconding bomb-makers in at least the Jaipur and Ahmedabad blasts belonged to Pakistan-based jehadi groups.

While the Rajasthan Police interrogators of Shahbaz are trying to verify the veracity of this vital information, the revelation throws new light on the recent bomb attacks as the devices in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat and Delhi were identical. The SIMI leader has told Rajasthan Police this week that there was a 8220;marriage of convenience8221; between his group and jehadi groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba through links in Hyderabad.

Although Shahbaz is yet to admit to his role in the Jaipur bombing, he has talked of two bomb-makers who could have been responsible for the Ahmedabad and Jaipur blasts. He has not given out names of the bomb-makers, but claims that SIMI does not have the capability of rigging such devices and is only involved in planting the bombs. The so-called 8220;emir8221;, who also has the nom de guerre of Khatab, has no idea of who is behind the Delhi bombing.

Incidentally, Shahbaz8217;s statement to the police came before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh outlined the involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists groups in the recent serial bomb attacks with the help of local elements at the Governors8217; Conference on Wednesday.

According to Shahbaz, his group got in touch with the terrorists groups across the border through its Saudi Arabia- frequenting connections in Hyderabad. He does not talk about HuJI but only of JeM and LeT, who, he says, have mastered the technology of shaped charges or improvised explosive devices. The fact is that while the Gujarat police have been able to uncover the Ahmedabad blasts plot, they have still not accounted for the bomb-makers. And similar is the case in Jaipur blasts.

The intersection between SIMI and pan-Islamic jehadis groups was revealed with the arrest of SIMI activist Mohammed Riyazuddin Nasir in Karnataka. Nasir, currently lodged in Belgaum jail, has trained with the LeT and studied with Ahmedabad blasts accused Abu Bashar in a madrasa in Hyderabad.

According to Shahbaz, the words 8220;mujahideens are safe8221; in the terror attack e-mails sent to media organisations before the Delhi serial blasts substantiated the fact that the bomb-makers were still at large.

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He has apparently indicated that SIMI is the local front for the jehadi groups who form 8220;two-third of the group with the rest made up by locals.8221;

Giving details about the authors of e-mails, which have been verified by the Rajasthan Police, Shahbaz singles out Abdus Subhan aka Tauqeer and Abu Bashar for the contents, but has no knowledge of who wrote the mail prior to the Delhi blasts.