LeT focus on India,but US,Europe targets too

Top US commander says LeT has declared jihad against country.

Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has declared a jihad on the US and is expanding its reach to Europe and other continents,a top US military commander has said,warning that it was no longer solely focussed on India or South Asia.

India continues to be LeTs main target. But Admiral Robert Willard,Chief of the US forces in the Pacific,noted that the group has declared holy war against the United States and renewed longstanding concerns in Washington about attacks by LeT militants against US forces in Afghanistan.

LeT,considered the best-funded terror outfit in the region,had carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks which killed 166 people. Blaming LeT for carrying out attacks on US forces in Afghanistan,Willard,told lawmakers that the US had evidence of the groups presence in Europe,the broader Asia Pacific and even in the past in Canada and here,CNN reported.

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LeT was cultivated by Pakistans security establishment two decades ago to wage a guerrilla war to wear down Indian security forces in Kashmir,the US media report said. At a Senate hearing,Admiral Willard said,the discussion regarding the government of Pakistans relationship to LeT is a very sensitive one.

His comments come at a time when US is sharply focussing on the group particularly since the arrest of Pakistani American David Headley in 2009. According to Headleys statement to US authorities,he had joined LeT to fight in Kashmir but ended up scouting targets for the Mumbai attackers.

Last week,the White House in a report to Congress warned that despite unprecedented efforts by Pakistan to go after the militants within the country,it lacked a clear path to defeat them.

Admiral Willard told the lawmakers that the US was working actively with South Asian governments including India,Nepal,Bangladesh,to help build their capacities to contain LeT.

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The comments come at a sensitive time in US-Pakistan relations. Pakistan is demanding the US scale back CIA activities and reduce the number US Special Forces trainers in the latest example of strained security ties.

Its important that this particular discussion continue to take place and that we continue to work with the government of Pakistan to root out terrorism that exists within their borders, Willard said.

For more than a year US officials have expressed frustration with the slow pace of the Pakistani effort. The White House report stated that without pressure from the Pakistani side of the border,it is impossible to wipe out the strongholds of Taliban or al-Qaeda in the country,except with help of drone strikes that are being carried out by the US.