US offers new $5 million reward for Mumbai attackers

In this file photo, Indian firefighters attempt to put out a fire as smoke billows from the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai on Nov. 27, 2008. (AFP)
Updated 26 November 2018
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US offers new $5 million reward for Mumbai attackers

  • The announcement came on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the assault, which left 166 people dead and hundreds injured
  • The US State Department had earlier announced bounties of $10 million and $2 million for two others

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday urged Pakistan to take action against those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks as Washington offered a new reward of $5 million for helping secure their capture.

The announcement came on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the assault, which left 166 people dead and hundreds injured after Islamist militants from Pakistan unleashed a wave of violence across India's financial capital lasting three days.

"It is an affront to the families of the victims that, after ten years, those who planned the Mumbai attack have still not been convicted for their involvement," Pompeo said in a statement.

"We call upon all countries, particularly Pakistan, to uphold their UN Security Council obligations to implement sanctions against the terrorists responsible for this atrocity, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and its affiliates."

"We stand with the families and friends of the victims, whose loved ones were lost in this act of barbarism, including six American citizens," he added.

The Department of State's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program meanwhile said it was offering up to $5 million "for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted" the execution of the attack.

It is the third such reward offered by the US after the State Department announced bounties of $10 million for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and $2 million for Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, another senior leader of the group.

Saeed, who is also designated a terrorist by the United Nations, has denied involvement in terrorism and the Mumbai attacks.

A party linked to the charitable wing of the LeT contested Pakistan's national elections in July, failing to win any seats but winning more than 435,000 national and regional votes.

 


Trump ‘very disappointed’ with UK’s Starmer for blocking use of air bases, Telegraph says

Updated 02 March 2026
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Trump ‘very disappointed’ with UK’s Starmer for blocking use of air bases, Telegraph says

  • UK PM then said bases could ‌be used in “defensive” operations
  • Trump says it took “too long” for Starmer to change his mind

LONDON: Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not allowing the US to use the Diego Garcia air base to carry out strikes on Iran, the Daily Telegraph quoted the US president as saying in an interview.
Britain had reportedly initially ‌denied the US ‌permission to conduct air strikes ​from ‌its ⁠bases, ​but on ⁠Sunday evening Starmer said he was accepting a request for their use in any “defensive” strikes the US wanted to make against Iranian targets.
In an interview published on Monday Trump told the British newspaper that it took “too long” for Starmer to change ⁠his mind.
“That’s probably never happened between our ‌countries before,” he told ‌the Telegraph, adding: “It sounds like ​he was worried about the ‌legality.”
Trump said Starmer should have approved from ‌the get-go the American use of Diego Garcia — a strategically important US-UK air base in the Indian Ocean — saying Iran was responsible for killing “a lot of people from ‌your country.”
Britain was not involved in the joint US-Israel air strikes on Iran ⁠that killed ⁠the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Since attacks on Iran started on Saturday, Iran has been targeting Gulf countries with missiles, and on Sunday an Iranian-made drone hit Britain’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, causing limited damage and no casualties.
Trump said it was “useful” that the US would now be able to launch operations from Diego Garcia, as he also criticized a deal Starmer ​has made over ​the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, where Diego Garcia is based.