London, Aug 5 (IANS) British investigators hunting for the mastermind of the July 7 suicide attacks are looking at the role of two Pakistan-based terrorist groups - Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashker-e-Taiba - that are also active in Jammu and Kashmir.
The counter terror team of Scotland Yard disagree with Islamabad's claim that there is no proof of the suicide bombers having any Pakistani connections, the Times reported Friday.
Scotland Yard detectives insist that the suicide bombers met a number of known militants belonging to groups operating inside Pakistan that have close ties to the leadership of the Al Qaeda.
These groups include Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashker-e-Taiba, which, the newspaper said, had trained many young Britons in using weapons and explosives and had groomed up to half a dozen other Britons as suicide bombers.
The counter terror team is also probing the links between Al Qaeda, terrorist 'talent spotters', and British Islamic youth whose terror activities have taken them to Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistani ministers say that none of the 600 people rounded up in their crackdown on militants since 7/7 has anything to do with Britain's inquiry. Yet a senior security source has told The Times that there are seven men detained who are being questioned about their associations with the 7/7 bombers," the newspaper reported.
Scotland Yard is trying to discover who the British bombers met on their various travels abroad. Although the three were in Pakistan together, Islamabad says there is no evidence that they linked up with terror suspects in Pakistan.
There were four London suicide bombers involved in the July 7 attacks, all of whom died after setting off explosions that killed more than 50 people in three underground train carriages and a bus.
Scotland Yard detectives, who say their investigations keep leading them back to Pakistan, are interested in reports that a London college dropout named Zeeshan Siddiqui, currently in an Islamabad jail, had earlier this year met Shehzad Tanweer, one of the 7/7 bombers.
Detectives are keen to know what they discussed and who else Tanweer met during his three-month stay in Pakistan, the Times reported. It added that Tanweer was believed to have contacted a number of figures involved with Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Jaish-e-Mohammad's British recruits include Britain's first suicide bomber Mohammad Bilal, who rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into an Indian military post in Kashmir in December 2000.
The Times report said the Jaish and Lashkar-e-Taiba collect more than five million pounds a year in donations from Britons who believe their funds are going to charities in Kashmir.