Trump hails capture of Mumbai attacks 'mastermind'

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump lauded Wednesday the arrest of the individual accused of orchestrating a grisly 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, India that killed over 160 victims.

"After a ten year search, the so-called 'mastermind' of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan," Trump said on Twitter. "Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!"

Trump was referring to his time in office when he suggested "great pressure" had been exerted since 2017.

Police in Pakistan arrested Jamaat ud Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in a terror financing case earlier Wednesday.

Saeed is suspected of orchestrating the attack on Mumbai that lasted four days and injured hundreds of victims while leading Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terrorist group in the U.S., Pakistan and India.

Saeed was taken into custody while on his way to Gujranwala district from Lahore, a couple weeks after authorities charged him together with several other leaders of banned militant outfits for terror financing in a desperate bid to avoid being placed on a blacklist by the Financial Action Task Force, a G7-founded entity designed to combat money laundering.

His arrest comes as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan prepares to meet Trump next week in Washington. Khan is expected to meet with the president on Monday.