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Shaken India points finger at 'neighbors'

Toll tops 125; commandos fight to control Bombay

By Ashish Kumar Sen THE WASHINGTON TIMES | Thursday, November 27, 2008

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NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday blamed militant groups in neighboring countries [-] almost certainly Pakistan [-] for plotting a series of terrorist attacks in the country's financial capital of Bombay, as commandos fought to regain control of the city and the death toll exceeded 125.

India's armed services, working in tandem with police, elite commandos and counterterrorism squads, on Friday scoured two luxury hotels and a Jewish center in Bombay for terrorists who were thought to be holding hostages.

Authorities said the death toll from the attacks, which started Wednesday night stood at 125, including at least six foreigners, by Friday morning.

Indian officials said they had killed three gunmen at the Taj Mahal Hotel and were sweeping both it and the Oberoi-Trident hotel early Friday in search of hostages and trapped people. Dozens of hostages have been released from the luxury hotels.

The State Department warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Bombay and other parts of India at this time.

In his televised address to the nation, Mr. Singh said it was "evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country."#

"We will take up strongly with our neighbors that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them," he said.

Although Mr. Singh did not mention Pakistan by name, both politicians and analysts said that when government officials use the word "neighbors," it is typically an allusion to Pakistan.

"Since the prime minister has publicly accused Pakistan, I think there is reason to believe that there must be a kernel of truth to it," said Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University at Bloomington.