US special forces present in India

A top Pentagon commander has disclosed that US special forces are present in five South Asian countries, including India as part of the couter-terrorism co-operation with these nations.

Admiral Robert Willard, the PACOM Commander said that the teams have been deployed in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal in view to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities.

We are working very closely with India with regard to their counter-terrorism capabilities and in particular on the maritime domain but also government to government, not necessarily DOD (Department of Defence) but other agencies assisting them in terms of their internal counter-terror and counterinsurgency challenges," Willard said.

He added that US is working with India to help it contain Lashkar-e-Taiba, a very dangerous organisation.

"Responsible for many terror attacks in India, the Pakistan based LeT not only has very good operational security but also a lot of international design in terms of their aspirations," he added.

Willard added that LeT, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda and other VEOs, is a very important threat as it contributes to terrorist operations in Afghanistan and aspires to operate against Asia, Europe and North America.

He added that US wants to ensure that India has the best systems in place possible to prevent future attacks such as the one in Mumbai.