LeT seeks to liberate Kashmir from Indian rule. It also supports the imposition of Islamic rule on all of India.

LeT conducts fundraising activities among Pakistani expatriate groups in the Persian Gulf and Europe. Islamic non-governmental organizations as well as Pakistani businessmen also support LeT.

The group has links to several Islamic religious and political groups in areas with large Muslim populations, including Chechnya, the Philippines and the Middle East.

LeT also maintain ties to other Kashmiri separatist groups.

In 1994, LeT became one of the primary recipients of funds from the Pakistani intelligence organization ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). For this help, LeT agreed to support Kashmir's merger with Pakistan, to attack Hindus in the Jammu district of Kashmir and to assist in training Muslim youth in other parts of India.

LeT militants are armed with a variety of heavy equipment and light arms, including mortars, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives.

Since 1993, the Army of the Pure has waged a guerrilla war against the Indian military and attacked civilian targets in Kashmir.

The Indian government officially blamed LeT and another Kashmir separatist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, for the Dec. 13, 2001, attack on the parliament building in New Delhi.

LeT is also believed responsible for the November 2008 attacks on Bombay (Mumbai), India, in which 164 people were killed. Targets included the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, Metro Cinema and the Nariman House, an orthodox Jewish center.

The status of Kashmir has been a point of contention between India and Pakistan since the partition of Britain's Indian territories in 1947.

Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Pakistan was known to support Kashmiri separatist groups such as the LeT through its Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). The ISI reportedly provided training and helped militants cross the Line of Control into India.

Islamabad used these groups to fight India indirectly for control over Kashmir. However, in 2002, Pakistan President Pervaiz Musharraf ostensibly cut ties to the separatist groups and pledged to limit their activities. The groups were banned and forced underground, where they have assumed new names and ad hoc alliances. LeT reorganized in an attempt to separate its military actions in Kashmir from its religious undertakings in Pakistan.

The Army of the Pure has exacerbated cross-border tensions by launching attacks against Indian military and civilian targets across the Line of Control. Despite Pakistan's promises, regular attacks continue in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

LeT is the militant wing of the Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), a fundamentalist Islamic group that is connected to Wahhabi sects in Pakistan. It was founded in 1987 by Zafar Iqbal, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Abdullah Azam. Azam was killed two years later in an explosion in Peshawar; Saeed and Iqbal continue to lead the MDI. The organization has been involved in religious and social programs. It runs religious schools in Pakistan called madrases, which are known as recruiting grounds for militant groups.

Saeed has been arrested a number of times. Most recently, after the November 2008 attacks on Bombay, India, Saeed was placed under house arrest in Lahore, Pakistan. He was never formally charged. A Pakistani court there released him in early June of 2009.

Unlike many other Kashmiri separatist groups that recruit foreign fighters, the LeT cadre mainly consists of local mujahedin, as reported by Pakistan's Dawn newspaper in January 1998. However, exact numbers and membership are kept secret, and LeT guerrillas will often choose death rather than capture, making it difficult to confirm some details of the group.

LeT guerrilla training reportedly consists of two separate pipelines. There is a 21-day basic course and a more advanced three-month course. The longer course consists of weapons training, as well as survival and evasion techniques. Some of the education has reportedly included training for airplane hijackings.

Despite a crackdown on the group by the Pakistani government, LeT has shown marked resiliency. With its ability to destabilize the situation in Kashmir and in the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with its links to other terrorist organizations, LeT remains a formidable factor in perpetuating discord in the region. LeT displays organizational capability, expertise in explosives and an aptitude for recruiting. In a March 2009 report, the Rand Corp. noted that the group should remain a high priority for policy makers and national defense agencies.

Dec. 13: Militants attacked the Indian parliament building in New Delhi, killing 14. The government publicly blamed LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed for the attack.

March: Senior Al-Qaida member Abu Zubayad was captured in an LeT safehouse in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

May 14: LeT guerrillas attacked an Indian army base in Kaluchak, India, killing 36 troops.

Nov. 24: Suspected LeT militants raided a Hindu temple complex in Kashmir, killing 11 people and wounding 50 others. Indian security forces eventually killed the guerrillas.

Aug. 26: Two car bombs detonated in Bombay, killing at least 50. Investigators later concluded that the explosive used in the blast was RDX, a substance that some authorities said was obtainable by groups such as Al-Qaida or LeT.

March 17: A British judge sentenced LeT "quartermaster" Mohammed Ajmal Khan to eight years in prison for conspiring to commit terrorism. Khan gathered and distributed a stockpile of equipment for use in Pakistan, Afghanistan and probably elsewhere, concluded the judge.

July 11: Multiple bombs were detonated on a train in Bombay, India, killing more than 200 people. LeT militants, along with the Students Islamic Movement of India, were believed responsible for planning and carrying out the attack.

Aug. 28: Hafeez Muhammed Saeed was arrested and detained without charges.

Sept 8: A series of eight blasts killed more than 30 people in Malegaon, India. LeT operatives were believed to have had links to the attack.

Sept. 12: The political wing of LeT issued a fatwa calling for the death of Pope Benedict XVI for "his blasphemous statement about Prophet Muhammad." In a speech earlier that month, the pope quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Sept. 16: A top LeT commander was killed in a firefight with Indian security forces in the Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the clash, authorities recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition, as well as high-denomination bills in both Indian and Pakistani currency.

October: An attack on a paramilitary camp in Srinagar was claimed by a group calling itself the Al-Mansurian militant group. Authorities said this was likely a new name for LeT.

Hafeez Muhammed Saeed, who had been arrested on Aug. 28, was released from government custody. The Lahore High Court ordered Saeed released despite arguments that it would harm relations with neighboring countries, especially in light of upcoming peace talks.

September: LeT leader Hafeez Muhammed Saeed called for an intensified jihad against what he called India’s growing influence in the region.

April 28: The U.S. State Dept. added two organizations to its list of designated terrorist organizations, each with links to LeT. The first, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), is an LeT-affiliated group that was established to avoid sanctions imposed directly on LeT. JUD was set up to function as a social service organization. The second group, Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq (IKK), was established by JUD as a public welfare organization used to collect funds and undertake other activities.

May 27: The U.S. Treasury Dept. designated four LeT leaders as persons with links to Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaida network. A department spokesman said that LeT was a "dangerous Al-Qaida affiliate that has demonstrated its willingness to murder innocent civilians," saying the group's "transnational nature" made it imperative for all governments to thwart LeT's fundraising and operations.

July 8: A suicide bomber attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 54 people. Afghanistan attributed the attack to an LeT operative. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence sources indicated that Pakistan's intelligence service had a role in planning or executing the attack. Pakistan denied the allegation.

Nov. 26-28: Terrorists attacked a variety of locations in Bombay (Mumbai), India, killing 164 people. Among those were 28 foreigners, including six Americans; 17 were members of the police and security forces. Another 293 were injured. The attackers entered Bombay from the sea and attacked people in two hotels, a Jewish center, the main train station and additional locations. Bombs were planted in two taxis. Nine of the attackers were killed and one was captured. The terrorists appeared to have been well-trained and took advantage of technology such as Global Positioning System trackers. After an investigation, officials from the FBI and other government agencies concluded that LeT was behind the attack.

Nov. 28: A leader of the LeT splinter group JUD warned that the vital global issue is the "unjust war perpetuated against Islam and the Muslim world." He said America, Israel, India and other "false and fallacious" powers want to eradicate Islam and Muslims.

Dec. 8: Responding to suspicions of LeT involvement in the Bombay attacks, Pakistani security forces raided an LeT camp in Muzzafarabad. The government also arrested or detained LeT and JUD leaders in other parts of the country, pledged to cooperate in finding the attackers and offered to share intelligence regarding the attacks with India.

Dec.10: The U.S. State Dept. expressed support for actions taken by the United Nations against LeT and its affiliates. The U.N. cited four members of LeT for "targeted sanctions" including travel bans and financial controls. The agency also added JUD to its list of terrorist groups and identified several financial organizations suspected of raising funds for LeT.

Dec. 11: Pakistani officials detained LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, essentially placing him under house arrest in Lahore. Saeed resigned as head of LeT in 2001 to become the top official for Jamaat ud Dawa. In addition to detaining Saeed, the government sealed JUD offices in Karachi and Hyderbad.

March 20: An Indian paramilitary force engaged LeT militants in a five-day encounter in the Kupwara district, close to the Kashmir Line of Control. LeT took credit for an ambush on an army patrol. Indian army officials noted that the LeT forces utilized sophisticated techniques including GPS devices.

May 3: During a court proceeding involving a ransom case, police asserted that members of LeT were responsible for the assassination of Pakistani Gen. Aamir Faisal Alvi in 2004. The killing was reportedly conducted to avenge a crackdown on militants.

May 4: Pakistan tightened security at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi following reports that militants were planning to free LeT leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was being held at the facility on suspicion of involvement in the Bombay attacks. Pakistani authorities arrested Lakhvi in December 2008 after India handed over intercepts of telephone conversations between Lakhvi and the Bombay attackers to the FBI. The FBI determined that the intercepts were authentic and said that Lakhvi was involved in the attacks.

June 2: A court in Lahore, Pakistan, ordered that LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed be released from house arrest.