Intelligence Bureau officials told rediff.com that training men to carry out air strikes has always been on the agenda of outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad.
The men who could have possibly entered the country are not new recruits and neither have they been trained recently.
Prior to the 9/11 attacks on the United States, several Arab nationals were sent to the United States for training. While some of them had carried out the 9/11 attack, over 30 of them had returned to their base camps in various countries including Pakistan. The plan to carry out air strikes was originally devised by the Al Qaeda. Along with the Al Qaeda, several operatives from both the LeT and the JeM were too sent for training.
Sources say that all these cadres were trained in the United States. They received practical training as commercial pilots and then they returned to their base camps. While some of the men have been saved up to carry out attacks, the others are instructed to impart training to new cadres.
Both the LeT and the JeM have set up specialised units to train in air strikes. IB sources say that these outfits train cadres in simulators at the base camps.
The men who were trained along with the 9/11 attackers have prepared several documents and CDs which specify various aspects of the training programme. It is said that over the years, terror groups have started building full fledged training facility so that they do not need to depend on other countries. The situation is no longer the same after the spate of terror attacks and hence these outfits do not find it safe to send their cadres to other countries.
Reports suggest that there are at least two such training facilities in Pakistan. This training facility is not exclusive to any terror group. Outfits such as the Al Qaeda, the LeT and JeM share the facility.
