'Headley posed as Jew for Nariman House recce'

MUMBAI: Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Headley, posing as a Jew, had visited Nariman House in the first half of last year. The statements of some of the witnesses who had either seen or accompanied Headley to Nariman House, also known as Chabad House, have been recorded by the investigating agencies. A rabbi and his wife were among the six killed in the 26/11 terror attack at Nariman House last year.
The attack by LeT terrorists in the five-storeyed house, which can be approached only through narrow lanes and by-lanes of Colaba, had led the security agencies to deduce that a proper recce had been conducted before the srike.
One of the witnesses told the investigators that Headley went inside the house and interacted with the residents for a long time. Another witness recalled that Headley had taken a round with him around the area to ascertain the entry and exit points of the Nariman House, sources said.
Headley, who was arrested by the FBI at the airport in Chicago in October for allegedly plotting to carry out terror strikes in India and Denmark, had told his investigators that he had learnt praying like Jews at the instance of a former Major General Sajid Mir of Pakistan army, who was now emerging as one of the masterminds behind 26/11. Mir wanted Headley to learn praying like Jews so that he could conduct a recce of Nariman House, sources said, adding that he has been arrested in Pakistan. However, this could not be independently verified.