PAKISTANI troops have raided the militant Lashkar-e-Taiba's headquarters, seizing the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai last month.

In a move apparently aimed at defusing a diplomatic and military crisis that has pitted Pakistan against the combined anger of India, the United States and Israel, troops on Sunday moved into a corner of the town of Muzaffarabad, in the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan.

After sealing off the area, soldiers were spotted entering the neighbourhood housing Lashkar's HQ and engaging in a brief gunbattle with militants as a helicopter hovered overhead, according to television and other media reports.

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