“A small number of trained and determined attackers with relatively unsophisticated weapons can do a great deal of damage. Other terrorist groups, including al-Qaida and its affiliates, will no doubt take note of the Mumbai attacks and attempt to emulate them,” said FBI’s Chief Investigating Officer Donald Van Duyn, in his report on 26/11 terror attacks.

The FBI further admitted that in this world of technological advances, even a smaller-looking terrorist group poses a global threat. “A terrorist group that appears to be primarily a threat to their surrounding localities can sometimes have broader aspirations,” Duyn said.

Citing the example of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), he said: “Although LeT has historically focused its attacks against Indian forces in the Kashmir region, the Mumbai attacks reinforce the reality that LeT has the capability to operate outside its home base. These actions highlight the need to examine other groups that appear to be active only locally and determine whether they have the operational capability and strategic intention to undertake a more regional or global agenda.”

Duyn was addressing the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the US on January 8, when a section of Pakistani leadership accepted the lone arrested terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab to be its national after several weeks of denial. “The planning for the Mumbai attacks probably unfolded over a fairly long period with careful surveillance of the target sites and transportation routes,” he said.    

The FBI also admitted that it did not have any specific intelligence on LeT but said that it posed a threat in South East Asia more than in the US. “The lone surviving Mumbai attacker (Kasab) has claimed that the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba provided him training and direction for the attack. The LeT, which is well known to the US Intelligence Community (USIC), remains a threat to the US interests in South Asia, and to a lesser extent to the US homeland,” Duyn said.

The FBI has been actively associated with the Mumbai terror attack investigation primarily with an objective to gather leads and information to help counter any terrorist threat to the US citizens or its interest abroad or in their country.