Jihad means to kill, become famous and make God happy

Captured Mumbai Lashkar e Taiba terror commando Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab told police in a videotaped confession on the night of his arrest that he turned to violence in part because his impoverished family was promised almost $4000 US dollars if his attack succeeded.In this file photo, a gunman identified by police as Mohammed Ajmal Aamir Qasab walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India. Qasab, the only gunman captured after a 60-hour terrorist siege of Mumbai said he belonged to a Pakistani militant group with links to the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, a senior police officer said Sunday. "We were told that our big brother India is so rich and we are dying of poverty and hunger. My father sells dahi wada on a stall in Lahore and we did not even get enough food to eat from his earnings. I was promised that once they knew that I was successful in my operation, they would give Rs 1,50,000 [almost USD 4,000] to my family)," said Qasab. He also naively begged police to not reveal he had survived since Lashkar e Taiba had sent him to die,and if it was revealed he had survived, he later would be killed by other members of his terrorist organization.

"Jihad means to kill, become famous and make God happy," captured terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab reportedly answered interrogating Mumbai police when asked to define "jihad", or "holy war", a term some militants use to justify violence.

Police officials also claimed Kasab could not recite any verse in the Koran, the Islamic holy book, and that he admitted that money tempted him to enlist in the November 26 terrorist attack on Mumbai, along with nine others, all of whom were killed. The seaborne assault last week launched from outside India killed 183 people and injured over 300. After officially banned Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) promised to compensate Kasab's impoverished familyin Faridkot village in Pakistan's Punjab province, Kasab's father asked him to join the LET a year ago, according to the "confession". Twenty-one-year old Kasab was captured by Mumbai police at Girgaum Chowpatty on Marine Drive during their three-night siege of two luxury hotels and a Jewish community center in south Mumbai. Kasab is a rare prize: a terrorist captured alive on a suicide mission. He is also the center of a mystery because there have been no coherent or consistent accounts of his statements to authorities. The captured terrorist's contradictory explanations are mirrored in India's confused official response to what's being described as the world's most audacious and brutal urban terrorist attack since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Indian and international media professionals for the past week have have not had access to any coordinated government briefings on the crisis. There is no spokesperson or even official statements clearly underlining India's position. For instance, on the afternoon of December 2, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee ruled out India launching military action against Pakistan. By night, however, Mukherjee was reported to have said nothing was ruled out on how to respond to Pakistan. On December 3, Mukherjee declared that India's response will be based on what action Pakistan takes to deliver on Indian demands, such as handing over a list of "20 Most Wanted" fugitives said to be in Pakistan.