 Counterterrorism officials and experts said the scale, sophistication and targets involved in the Mumbai attacks were markedly different from previous terrorist plots in India and suggested the gunmen had received training from outside the country.
| How could we ever get along without experts? |
But they cautioned it was too soon to tell who may have masterminded the operation, despite an assertion from a previously unknown Islamist radical group.
[Important hair voice]
"Only time will tell!"
[/Important hair voice] |
Officials in India, Europe and the United States said likely culprits included Islamist networks based in Pakistan that have received support in the past from Pakistan's intelligence agencies.
| The usual chain seems to be SIMI to Lashkar-e-Taiba to ISI... |
Meanwhile, British officials said they were investigating the possibility that two of its citizens were involved in the attacks.
| "Oh, rilly. We're quite sure none of our lads were involved, though we're asking around, of course. Got the Yard on it, in fact! |
In India, Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, told reporters that two of the captured gunmen were British citizens of Pakistani origin. He gave no details.
| They'll come out eventually... |
The British government said it was investigating but unable to confirm the report. "I would not want to be drawn into early conclusions about this," Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters. "There is so much information still to be discovered and made available." |