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.

 


Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham

Updated 12 March 2026
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Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham

  • Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent

DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.

Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”

In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.

In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”

Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”

“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”

“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.

He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”

Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”

“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”

 

 

Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.

She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”

Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.

 

 

The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.