Al Qaeda works closely with Indian Mujahideen, says key accused

Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, the Indian Mujahideen operative who was arrested with kingpin Yasin Bhatkal from the Bihar-Nepal border in August last year, has reportedly told investigators that an Al Qaeda operative is among their close associates handling operations for the Indian Mujahideen in India. [caption id=“attachment_642447” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] The reach and networking of the global terror outfit that has spawned and supported multiple terrorist organisations is the subject of investigations in India and in the US. A report in The Hindustan Times said Haddi made the admission under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code in a statement before a magistrate, making the admission admissible as evidence before a court. The alleged Qaeda operative, named only as Waqas, is a Pakistani national who has participated in IM operations, including the September 2010 Jama Masjid shootout, the December 2010 Varanasi bomb blast, the July 2011 Mumbai serial blasts, the August 2012 Pune blasts and the Dilsukhnagar blasts in February 2013. Haddi is reported to have previously told investigators, including the Maharashtra ATS, that Waqas is one among several Pakistan in men trained by the Indian Mujahideen to carry out operations in India after the arrest of several Indian colleagues.