13/7 accused met Osama bin Laden in 2001 - ATS sources

Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad (ATS) sources on Tuesday said that July 13, 2011 Mumbai serial blast accused and Indian Mujahideen member Haroon Naik met slain terrorist Osama bin Laden in August 2001 in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

"Naik was part a group of operatives who were addressed by Osama in Bhawalpur," said the sources about the Indian Mujahideen member who was arrested for possessing fake currency notes.

The sources said that Naik also met 9/11 operative Sheikh Umar and gangster Aftab Ansari.
Naik was the link between Indian Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and was in contact with Jaish-e-Mohammed and al-Qaeda.

ATS sources said that Naik underwent 40-day training at an al-Qaeda facility in Pakistan.
Naik was arrested for facilitating money for executing the 13/7 terror attack.

The 35-year-old Naik, who is in the "upper echelon" of the home-grown terror outfit, had been earlier nabbed from the Mumbai international airport on charges of possessing fake currency notes on August 22, 2011 and since then is lodged in jail.

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