`Great synergy' among terror groups matter of concern: Mullen

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Dec 5 (PTI) Voicing deep concern over "great
synergy" among terror groups, top US military commander Mike
Mullen Saturday said Pakistan-based LeT, which "fostered"
Mumbai attacks, is associated with al-Qaeda and Taliban, and
asserted India has a role to play in bringing stability to the
region.
"Probably the biggest concern I have is the collaboration
going on amongst the terrorists, amongst the groups. A few
years ago they didn't even talk to each other. They didn't
even like each other," Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chief of
Staff, told the popular Charlie Rose Show of the PBS.
"I see that in that border area, I see it in the
Pakistan. I see associations of the LeT, which is the group
that fostered the attack on Mumbai in India from Pakistan. I
see their association with al-Qaeda. I see them operating out
of the country, not just into India," Mullen said.
These various Taliban groups are associating with al-
Qaeda in ways that just had not happened before, he said.
"There's the Taliban who are actually in Pakistan and
threatening Pakistan -- this TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan)
group. There's the Taliban who are also in Pakistan and
threaten -- and this comes from mostly the Haqqani network --
that the focus on Afghanistan," he said.
But there "is great synergy and a much more symbiotic
relationship between them and amongst all of them," including
al Qaeda, Mullen said. "And that's the centre. I had a senior
administration official from India say what you don't
understand is this (Pakistan) is the epicentre of terrorism in
the world." (More) PTI