Police: Pakistani group behind Mumbai attacks

Bush calls prime minister
President George W. Bush told Singh in a telephone call that "out of this tragedy can come an opportunity to hold these extremists accountable and demonstrate the world's shared commitment to combat terrorism," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

Bush asked Secretary Rice to travel to India this week, and she was expected to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday after a previously scheduled stop in London.

Among the foreigners killed in the coordinated shooting rampage in India's financial capital were six Americans. The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

Sahni called for an overhaul of the nation's police force — the first line of defense against a future attack — providing better weapons, better equipment and real training.

R.R. Patil, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state where Mumbai is located, said the government was "taking all action to ensure that this will never take place again."

'Indian 9/11'
The alleged attacker, identified as a Pakistani national Mohammad Ajmal Qasam, told  told interrogators that they wanted to go down in history for an "Indian 9/11", and were also inspired by the bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in September, Times Now TV said, quoting an unidentified defense ministry official.

Local news channel NDTV reported that the gunmen had booked a room in the Taj Mahal hotel to store explosives. The captured militant told investigators the gang aimed to blow up the hotel and hoped to kill a total of 5,000 people. It is thought that the terrorists underestimated the strength of the building's stone exterior.

"Suddenly no one feels safe or secure," said Joe Sequeira, the manager of a popular restaurant near the Oberoi hotel, another site targeted in the attacks. "It will take time. People are scared but they will realize it's no use being scared and sitting at home."

On Sunday morning, the smell of disinfectant was strong outside Cafe Leopold, and the sidewalk wet from the mopping -- a very different sight from Wednesday night, when blood-splattered shoes and napkins lay strewn among broken furniture and glass.

"We are opening today. I'm just waiting for my work force to turn up. We've cleaned up, put everything in order," said Farhang Jehani, who with his brother Farzad, owns and runs the cafe.

6 Americans among the dead
The bodies of New York Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, were found at the Jewish center. Their son, Moshe, who turned 2 on Saturday, was scooped up by an employee Thursday as she fled the building.

Other Americans among the dead included:

• Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli with dual U.S. citizenship who was visiting the center.

• Rabbi Leibish Teitlebaum of Brooklyn, N.Y., who was visiting the center.

• Alan Scherr, 58, and daughter Naomi, 13, of Virginia, who died in a cafe Wednesday night. They lived at the Synchronicity Foundation sanctuary about 15 miles southwest of Charlottesville, Va., and were among 25 foundation participants in a spiritual program in Mumbai, said Bobbie Garvey, a spokeswoman for the foundation, which promotes a form of meditation.

The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

It was the country's deadliest attack since 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai killed 257 people.

In the southern city of Bangalore, black clad commandos formed an honor guard for the flag-draped coffin of Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed in the fighting at the Taj Mahal hotel.

"He gave up his own life to save the others," said J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite commando unit.

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