Why US fears a LeT terror strike on India

Any fresh terrorist strike in India by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba would hurt the United States' national security interest and its counter-terrorism interests in the region, a top Obama administration intelligence official has told lawmakers.

Testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counter-terrorism Centre, said Lashkar has enough capabilities to launch a Mumbai-type terrorist strike in Europe and other parts of the world.

"What we have not yet seen is a history of them doing so. We are certainly concerned by some indicators we see of them expanding their horizons beyond the region. Certainly they have the capacity -- it's a large organisation," he said.

"What they did in India could theoretically be launched elsewhere. But we have not yet seen those steps occur. I think the additional point that I would stress is they can still be a very destabilising factor in the region," he said.

"So even without striking in the US or Europe, a further attack by Lashkar-e-Tayiba in India would very much hurt our national security and our counterterrorism interests in Pakistan," Leiter said in response to a question from US lawmakers.

With respect to the terror situation in Pakistan, he said the US still sees Al Qaeda in Pakistan at its weakest point since the 9/11 attacks.