Facebook has become a social networking tool embraced by all.
With over 900 million registered users, the social network is not only a great tool for members to stay connected, but is one of the most visited sites on the web, second only to Google.
But the power of Facebook as a networking tool has in recent months been highlighted by numerous organisations that say that Facebook poses a serious threat to children (from online pedophiles) and the increasing questions over its privacy settings.
However, one interesting development has occurred from a recent investigation into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks from Indian authorities. They say Abu Jindal, a man who played a key role in the 26/11 terror attacks, used Facebook to recruit a young team of terrorists. Investigators have found that Jindal would target young, poor Muslims using the site, befriending them, and then training them to execute attacks on Indian soil.
Jindal, who was recently arrested by Indian authorities, has said he set up nine Facebook accounts while in Saudi Arabia in his own name (Zabiuddin Ansari; Abu Jundal was one of 10 aliases he used) to recruit young men for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organisation in Pakistan who India blames for the attacks that rocked Mumbai and numerous other terrorist attacks in the last 6 years.
According to Indian intelligence agencies, they were tracking his Facebook accounts and his online activity for some time and found he was using it to headhunt potential recruits. After the 26/11 attacks, Jundal says he was asked to travel to Saudi Arabia, arriving with a Pakistani passport. During his time there, he hunted for "talent" that could execute another big terror attack in India, planned for later this year.
Today, India has repeated its assertion that Jundal's information establishes that the 26/11 attacks were made possible because of some state support in Pakistan. "Abu Jundal is an Indian, he was perhaps radicalized in India, I admit that. Equally, Pakistan should admit that Jundal did go to Pakistan and was in the control room as one of the masterminds of the (26/11) attacks," said Home Minister P Chidambaram today. "Jundal had found a safe haven in Pakistan," he added.
According to the Home Minister, Jundal used Google maps to show interrogators the exact location of the "control room" in which he helped execute the first 24 hours of the terror attack in Mumbai. "Such a control room could not have been set up without state support," said the Home Minister.
