Pakistan frees suspected Mumbai attacks mastermind on bail

Pakistani authorities have freed the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on bail, sources said on Friday, a move likely to further strain ties with India.

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, accused over the terror siege that left 166 dead, was released late Thursday, according to an official at Adiyala Prison in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, The Daily Star reported on Friday.

The three-day onslaught on India's financial capital was blamed on banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). LeT's charitable wing Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) confirmed Lakhvi's release.

"Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi has been released from jail. He is free now and in a secure place," a senior JuD official said.

"We can't say exactly where is he at the moment for security reasons."

The release comes after nearly four months of wrangling over Lakhvi's detention, after a judge granted him bail in December, sparking a furious response from New Delhi.