New Delhi

Terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) intelligence chief Azam Cheema died of a heart attack in Pakistan's Faisalabad city, media reports said on Saturday (March 2). Cheema, 70, was a key conspirator of the 26/11 terror attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008. According to a report by the media outlet India Today, Cheema's funeral was held in Faisalabad's Malkhanwala.

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He was also involved in the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai. Cheema was wanted by the United States for allegedly training terrorists who carried out the 26/11 attacks which killed 166 people and injured more than 300 others. 

Also read | India formally requests 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's extradition from Pakistan

In 2010, the US Treasury Department targeted the financial networks of LeT and took action against Cheema. A statement by the department said that Cheema had been involved in LeT's training activities, specifically training operatives in bomb-making and skills needed to infiltrate into India.

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The news of his death comes just months after a LeT commander was killed by unidentified men in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in November last year. There have been mysterious killings of several operatives of the terrorist outfit in recent months.

In September 2023, Muhammad Riaz, also known as Abu Qasim Kashmiri, was shot dead by an unknown person at a mosque in Rawalakot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A report by the news agency Reuters said that Riaz was known to be associated with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a charity organisation linked with the LeT. 

Pakistan has accused Indian agencies of being behind the killings of many operatives, a charge that has been denied by New Delhi, a report by The Times of India (TOI) said. 

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In 2022, Pakistan accused India of orchestrating a bombing in 2021 near the residence of LeT co-founder Hafiz Saeed. This charge was also denied by New Delhi. 

(With inputs from agencies)