Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
Lashkar-e-Taiba is a Sunni group, which follows the Ahle-Haith interpretation of Islam. The Ahle-Hadith interpretation is similar to Salafism and Wahhabism and has roots in both the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. LeT's declared goals include conducting jihad in the way of Allah, preaching the true religion, and training a new generation along true Islamic lines.[42] Unlike Deoband groups operating in Pakistan, LeT aligns its ideological goals with the interests of the Pakistani state. It seeks to liberate Kashmir, the main source of conflict with India, and merge it with Pakistan using any means necessary. In January of 2009, however, LeT announced that it would consider accepting a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict.[43]
The group does not believe in attacking Muslims in its struggle against aggression and oppression. It aims to change the regional and geopolitical dynamic of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India by attacking non-Muslim civilian and government targets.[44] LeT is unique among the Ahle-Hadith groups because, unlike other groups, it holds da’wa (preaching) and jihad (fighting) as equal and essential components of Islam.[45]
The Milli Muslim League (MML) is an LeT political front, created by Hafiz Saeed in 2017 in order to put forth candidates for the 2018 Pakistani general elections.[46] However, the party was denied registration as a political party and entered its candidates under the latent Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) political party that was already approved by the Election Commission of Pakistan.[47] The AAT was unsuccessful in gaining any seats in the Pakistani National Assembly during the 2018 elections in July.[48]
Until the mid-2000s, Lashkar-e-Taiba primarily targeted Indian security forces with bombings and shootings. Attacks started becoming deadlier and less discriminatory around 2006 when LeT adopted tactics including serial bombings, marketplace attacks, hostage holding and train bombings.[49] Before being outlawed by Pakistan in 2002, LeT readily accepted credit for its attacks, but the group has since denied responsibility for its actions, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
A tactic unique to LeT is known as fidayeen (translated as “those who sacrifice themselves in order to redeem themselves”), which involve heavily armed small squads of gunmen or bombers who strike symbolic targets in an attempt to cause mass casualties. These attacks are distinct from suicide bombings, which LeT has refrained from using, since the attacker can survive a successful attack. This type of attack is an important recruiting tool for LeT, as many Islamic scholars argue that the deliberate taking of one’s own life is not permitted under Islam.[50]
In 2018, LeT launched an online propaganda magazine called “Wyeth.” The first issue included a list of attacks in 2017 involving LeT militants, along with a warning for the occupational forces in Kashmir that 2018 will be a difficult year.[51]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization’s history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
December 13, 2001: A high-profile shoot-out in the Parliament House building in New Delhi was attributed to LeT (12 killed, 0 wounded).[52]
May 14, 2002: Three LeT operatives attacked a bus coming from an Indian Army base in Kaluchak (36 killed, 48 wounded).[53]
September 24, 2002: LeT operatives raided Akshardam Temple in the Indian state of Gujarat using guns and hand grenades (33 killed, 70 wounded).[54]
August 25, 2003: India blamed LeT for a twin car bombing in Mumbai (52 killed, 150 wounded).[55]
October 29, 2005: LeT was responsible for three coordinated bombings in New Delhi markets and on a bus. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in India in 2005 (63 killed, 200 wounded).[56]
July 11, 2006: Seven coordinated pressure cooker bombs were detonated on Mumbai commuter trains (180 killed, 800 wounded).[57]
November 26, 2008: Ten gunmen carried out a coordinated attack of shootings and bombings against a railway station, a popular restaurant, a hospital, two hotels, and a Jewish Center in Mumbai. The attack lasted 60 hours and became known as 26/11 (164 killed, 308 wounded).[58]
February 13, 2010: Indian authorities speculate that LeT may have contributed surveillance and planning for the bombing of a German bakery in Pune (9 killed).[59]
February 21, 2013: LeT and claimed responsibility for an explosive device that detonated in a crowd in Hyderabad city, India (16 killed, 100+ wounded).[60]
December 14, 2014: Approximately 2,000 assailants believed to be compromised of Taliban, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters attacked security outposts in Kunar province, Afghanistan (18 killed, 22 wounded).[61]
September 18, 2016: LeT claimed responsibility for an attack on a military headquarters in Uri, Jammu, and Kashmir, India (24 killed, 17 wounded).[62]
In 2001, the U.S. Department of State designated Lashkar-e-Taiba as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Government of Pakistan banned LeT in 2002. In 2008 the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on four LeT leaders. In April 2012 two senior LeT leaders were placed on the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice list.[63] In 2014, the U.S. amended LeT’s designations to include Jama’at-ud-Dawa as an alias organization.[64] The U.S. amended the group’s designations again in 2018 to include the alias organizations Milli Muslim League (MML) and Tehreek-e- Azadi-e Kashmir (TAJK).[65]
Designations for LeT:
In addition to its militant activities, LeT provides extensive social services in Pakistan. LeT organizes its charitable activities through its front organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). JuD runs 173 schools across Pakistan, serving more than 18,000 students. JuD also runs three hospitals in Punjab and operates 66 ambulances.[67] Over 2,000 doctors volunteer their services for the group. In many areas, the services LeT provides are not available or affordable by other means.[68] These services target impoverished communities that state services do not reach, fostering support for LeT among Pakistanis.[69] The hospitals, schools, and community services provided are used as a method for proselytization of LeT’s Ahl-e-Hadith interpretation of Islam and to counter the influence of Christian NGOs and missionaries.
LeT also consistently responds to humanitarian disasters like the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 floods.[70] JuD took an active part in providing humanitarian relief to the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.[71] According to Steve Coll, "With its hospitals, universities, and social-service wings, Lashkar is akin to Hezbollah or Hamas; it is a three-dimensional political and social movement with an armed wing, not merely a terrorist or paramilitary outfit."[72]
Lashkar-e-Taiba has significant ties to global militant Islamist organizations. LeT has assisted with the training, transport, and protection of many notable Al Qaeda (AQ) figures including Ramzi Yusuf, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[73] Several Pakistani raids of LeT safe houses and schools have led to the arrest of AQ and AQ-affiliated operatives. Many high-profile militants have reportedly trained with LeT including Richard Reid, the terrorist who attempted to detonate his shoes on an airplane in December of 2001, and two of the 2005 London subway bombers.[74] Lashkar-e-Taiba’s links to Al Qaeda date back to LeT’s predecessor organization, MDI. Osama bin Laden is believed to have provided funding for MDI and even attended some of LeT’s first conferences.[75]
LeT became part of the United Jihad Council in 1993, an umbrella group for militant Islamist organizations operating in Kashmir. As part of the organization, it formed alliances with Harkatul Mujhaideen (HM), Hizb ul Mujhaideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HuJI) against Indian military assets in India controlled Kashmir. HuJI and JeM broke ties with LeT in 2004 when ISI launched a crackdown against the members of their groups because of suspicions that they were involved in attacks on then President General Pervez Musharraf.[76]
While LeT’s goals are based on its interpretation of Islam and global events, the group’s actions are heavily influenced by Pakistani ISI and aligned with the Pakistani state’s interests. There is little direct evidence of official Pakistani direction or support of LeT, but analysts, intelligence services, and international organizations regularly make links between the two.[77]
[1] Fair, C. Christine. "How Pakistan 's Intelligence Agency Created a Pliant Proxy and Implacable Foe of India: Pakistan." India Today Magazine. India Today, 11 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
[2] “Lashkar e-Taiba: 201712040003”. Global Terrorism Database. July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=20171204...
[3] Stephen Tankel, “Lashkar-e-Taiba: Past Operations and Future Prospects,” Washington, DC: New America Foundation, 2011, http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Tankel_LeT_0.pdf.
[4] Bajoria, Jayshree. Backgrounder: Lashkar-e-Taiba. Council on Foreign Relations. 2010. Web. 10 Nov 2015. http://www.cfr.org/pakistan/lashkar-e-taiba-army-pure-aka-lashkar-e-tayy...
[5] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html
[6] Sikand, “Islamist Militancy in Kashmir: The Case of Lashkar-e-Taiba,” 206.
[7] South Asian Terrorism Portal, “Incidents and Statements involving Lashkar-e-Toiba: 1996-2007,” n.d., accessed September 16, 2013, http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba_lt2007.htm.
[8] Praveen Swami, “Turning the Snow Red,” Frontline 17, no. 17 (August 19–September 1, 2000), http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1717/17170160.htm.
[9] Praveen Swami, “Pakistan and the Lashkar's Jihad in India,” The Hindu, December 9, 2008.
[10] Stephen Tankel, “Lashkar-e-Taiba: Past Operations and Future Prospects,” Washington, DC: New America Foundation, 2011, http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Tankel_LeT_0.pdf.
[11] Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State, Individuals and Entities Designated by the State Department Under E.O. 13224 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, August 16, 2011)
[12] Stephen Tankel, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e Taiba (London: C. Hurst & Co., 2011), 112.
[13] Amir Mir, “JamaatulDaawa spokesman impersonates as Lashkar-e-Taiba spokesman,” ME Transparent, January 4, 2009, http://www.metransparent.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=5134&lang=en.
[14] “Pakistan’s Jamaat ‘Ban’ Lie Nailed,” Times of India, January 12, 2009, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-01-12/pakistan/28028747_1_rally-lahore-channel.
[15] C. Christine Fair, Students Islamic Movement of India and the Indian Mujahideen: An Assessment, (Seattle, WA: The National Bureau of Asian Research, January 2010).
[16] Vicky Nanjappa “How the Indian Mujahideen was formed.” Rediff.com, July 29, 2008, http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jul/29ahd9.htm.
[17] Animesh Roul, “After Pune, Details Emerge on the Karachi Project and its Threat to India,” CTC Sentinel 3, no. 4, April 2010, http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/after-pune-details-emerge-on-the-karachi-project-and-its-threat-to-india.
[18] “Yassin Bhatkal allegedly behind these deadly attacks in India,” NDTV, August 29, 2013, http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/yasin-bhatkal-allegedly-behind-these-d....
[19] “Yasin Bhatkal trained by Lashkar in Pakistan,” New Indian Express, September 1, 2013, http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Yasin-Bhatkal-trained-by-Lashkar-in-Pakistan/2013/09/01/article1762226.ece.
[20] Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy, Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 42.
[21] Stephen Tankel, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e Taiba (London: C. Hurst & Co., 2011)
[22] “Surge of the Insurgents,” Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor, September 5, 2008.
[23] Karin Brulliard, “Afghan Intelligence Ties Pakistani Group Lashkar-i-Taiba to Recent Kabul Attack,” Washington Post, March 3, 2010.
[24] Sebastian Rotella, “Militant Reaffirms Role of Pakistan in Mumbai Attacks,” Foreign Policy, August 9, 2012.
[25] Arif Rafiq, “The Emergence of the Difa-e-Pakistan Islamist Coalition,” CTC Sentinel, March 22, 2012
[26] “Lashkar e-Taiba:201609180002”. Global Terrorism Database. July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=20160918...
[27] Goswami, Dev. “Zero seats for Hafiz Saeed's party as Pakistan election results pour in”. India Today. 26 July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-election-results-hafiz-sa...
[28] Stephen Tankel, “Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mumbai, and the ISI,” Foreign Policy, May 20, 2011.
[29] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html
[30] Zahra-Malik, Mehreen. “He’s on Wanted Posters in U.S., and Campaign Posters in Pakistan”. The New York Times. 16 Sep 2017. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/16/world/asia/pakistan-hafiz-muhammad-saeed-milli-muslim-league.html?module=inline
[31] Zahra-Malik, Mehreen. “Militant Leader Hafiz Saeed Is Released by Pakistani Court.” The New York Times. 23 Nov 2017. Web. 02 Nov 2018.
[32] "Mumbai attack suspect Lakhvi released on bail in Pakistan". BBC News. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
[33] Parashar, Sachin (5 April 2012). "Hafiz Saeed's brother-in-law Abdul Rehman Makki is a conduit between Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban". The Times of India.
[34] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba”. U.S. Department of State. 2018. https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/04/280125.htm
[35] “Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)”. U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. Accessed 2011. https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/lt.html
[36] “Lashkar-e-Tayyiba”. Australian National Security, Commonwealth of Australia. 2018. https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.aspx
[37] “Banned Outfits Raise Cash from Sacrifice Day,” Dawn, November 24, 2010, http://www.dawn.com/2010/11/24/banned-outfits-raise-cash-from-sacrifice-day.html.
[38] “Pakistan ‘Gave Funds’ to Group on UN Terror Blacklist,” BBC, June 16, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10334914.
[39] Josh Meyer, "Extremist group works in the open in Pakistan," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2007.
[40] C. Christine Fair, Neil Malhotra, Jacob N. Shapiro. Islam, Militancy, and Politics in Pakistan: Insights From a National Sample. Terrorism and Political Violence. Vol. 22, Iss. 4, 2010. Web. < http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09546553.2010.492305>.
[41] Josh Meyer, "Extremist group works in the open in Pakistan," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2007.
[42] Tankel, Stephen. "Lashkar-eTaiba: Past Operations and Future Prospects". New America Foundation. 27 Apr 2011. Web. 19 Oct 2015. http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/lashkar_e_taiba.
[43] “Violence not only answer to Kashmir - Lashkar-e-Taiba.” Reuters.com. Jan 20, 2009. http://in.reuters.com/article/2009/01/19/idINIndia-37536220090119
[44] Mumbai attackers had hit list of 320 world targets | World news | guardian.co.uk", February 19, 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/19/mumbai-attacks-list-targets.
[45] Stephen Tankel, “Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mumbai, and the ISI,” Foreign Policy, May 20, 2011.
[46] Fair, C. Christine. “The Milli Muslim League: The Domestic Politics of Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba”. Hudson Institute. 3 June 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.hudson.org/research/14305-the-milli-muslim-league-the-domest...
[47] Goswami, Dev. “Zero seats for Hafiz Saeed's party as Pakistan election results pour in”. India Today. 26 July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-election-results-hafiz-sa...
[48] Goswami, Dev. “Zero seats for Hafiz Saeed's party as Pakistan election results pour in”. India Today. 26 July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-election-results-hafiz-sa...
[49] The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2011. Print.
[50] Rana, A to Z of Jihadi Organizations in Pakistan, 337-39.
[51] “2018 Will be Tough For Security Forces in Kashmir, Claims LeT in Its Online Magazine”. India.com News Desk. 23 June 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.india.com/news/india/let-launches-online-magazine-wyeth-warn...
[52] “Govt blames LeT for Parliament attack, asks Pak to restrain terrorist outfits." Rediff.com, 14 Dec 2001.
[53] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html.
[54] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html.
[55] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html.
[56] Lashkar-e-Taiba. ADL. 2013. Web. 01 Jan 2015. http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.html.
[57] "Gaffar bomb was in pressure cooker". Hindustan Times. India. 23 September 2008.
[58] “Mumbai Terror Attacks Fast Facts”. CNN Library. 12 Dec 2017. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/world/asia/mumbai-terror-attacks/index.html; Sabha, Lok. “HM announces measures to enhance security”. Government of India, Minister of Home Affairs. 11 Dec 2008. Web. 02 Nov 2018. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=45446
[59] "Pune Blast Part of Lashkar-e-Taiba's Karachi Project?" Economic Times, February 15, 2010. Available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-02-15/news/27632798_1_german-bakery-karachi-project-karachi-project.
[60] “Lashkar e-Taiba:201302210003”. Global Terrorism Database. July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=20141214...
[61] “Lashkar e-Taiba: 201412140015”. Global Terrorism Database. July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=20141214...
[62] “Lashkar e-Taiba:201609180002”. Global Terrorism Database. July 2018. Web. 02 Nov 2018. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=20160918...
[63] Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)”. National Counterterrorism Center. 2011
[64] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba”. U.S. Department of State. 2014.
[65] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba”. U.S. Department of State. 2018. https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/04/280125.htm
[66] “LASHKAR-E-TAYYIBA Security Council Subsidiary Organs.” United Nations, United Nations, 17 Apr. 2018, www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/entit....
[67] Nirupuma Subramanian. "'No planning' went into action against JuD, says U.S. official." The Hindu, March 30, 2011. http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/article1582582.ece.
[68] Shushant Sareen, The Jihad Factory: Pakistan's Islamic Revolution in the Making (India: Observer Research Foundation, 2005), 243-46.
[69] Shushant Sareen, The Jihad Factory: Pakistan's Islamic Revolution in the Making (India: Observer Research Foundation, 2005), 243-46.
[70] Saeed Shah, “Pakistan floods: Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Islamists linked to India’s Mumbai attack, offer aid,” Christian Science Monitor, August 4, 2010.
[71] Coll, Steve. "Lashkar-e-Taiba." The New Yorker Blogs, December 1, 2008. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2008/12/lashkaretaiba.html.
[72] Coll, Steve. "Lashkar-e-Taiba." The New Yorker Blogs, December 1, 2008. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2008/12/lashkaretaiba.html.
[73] Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy, Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 42.
[74] Stephen Tankel, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e Taiba (London: C. Hurst & Co., 2011)
[75] Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy, Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 42.
[76] American Foreign Policy Council. The World Almanac of Islamism. January 30, 2014. Print. 25 Oct 2015.
[77] Stephen Tankel, “Lashkar-e-Taiba: Past Operations and Future Prospects,” Washington, DC: New America Foundation, 2011, http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Tankel_LeT_0.pdf.