There is credible evidence that Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was responsible for the >terror attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Herat province, the US has said.
“Based on credible information... the US government has assessed that LeT was responsible for the attack in Herat on May 23rd, 2014. This is the attack on the Indian consulate (in Herat)”, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said on Wednesday while announcing additional sanctions against LeT affiliates and leaders.
However, given the sensitive nature of the information, she refused to divulge details about the credible information, based on which LeT was held responsible for the attack on Indian Consulate in Herat.
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Coming three days before the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India, the attack was apparently part of LeT’s effort to derail his
Mr. Modi had invited the heads of the states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi on May 26.
“We make our assessments based on a wide range of all-source information. In this case we believe, based on this information, it’s credible. We look at number of different sources that we gather on our own. We have assessed that LeT did perpetrate this attack,” Ms. Harf said.
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On the eve of the swearing-in ceremony, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had told an Indian news channel that LeT was responsible for the terrorist attack and so did Indian Security agencies. The Indian consulate in Herat was attacked on May 23 by four heavily-armed gunmen, who were subsequently killed in an encounter as India attributed the pre-dawn strike to terror elements “beyond the borders” of the war-torn country.
The US on Wednesday re-designated LeT as a terrorist organisation and added several of its frontal organizations to the list, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, and Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal.
“The designations help us cut off support and funding to LeT so they can’t undertake future attacks. Also, cooperation between the US and India has already led to several Mumbai terrorists — including David Headley, being brought to justice,” she said.