New Delhi
12 August 2009
The U.S. ambassador to India says the United States will keep up pressure on Pakistan to bring the planners of last year's Mumbai attacks to justice. Two officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation have given evidence on the attacks, which India blamed on Islamic militants based in Pakistan.
The new U.S. ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, said in New Delhi that ensuring justice for the terror attacks in Mumbai is a "high priority" for the U.S. administration.
Ten gunmen mounted the daring attacks last November on the city's main rail station, a Jewish Center and two five-star hotels, killing 166 people, including six American nationals.
Pakistan has arrested five persons in connection with the attacks after admitting that they were partly plotted on its soil, and promising action against the guilty. These five do not include the man India believes masterminded the attack - Hafiz Saeed, who heads the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Ambassador Roemer says the United States is pressing Pakistan hard on all the Mumbai suspects. In response to a question, he said this includes Hafiz Saeed.
"We want to bring the perpetrators of the bloodthirsty attacks in Mumbai to justice wherever they are. I have communicated that to my government several times since I have been here that the people held in Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks, need to be brought to justice, and that includes everybody that you have mentioned," he said.
Ambassador Roemer says the United States will enhance cooperation with the Indian government to shut down terrorist networks around the world.
Two officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation gave evidence in a special court in Mumbai conducting the trial of the only gunman who was captured alive in the attacks. The identity of the FBI agents has not been revealed for security reasons.
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| A fireman gestures outside Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, 29 Nov 2008 |
One of them told the court that data downloaded from one satellite phone and three global positioning systems recovered after the attacks showed a number of maps and routes, including one off the coast of Pakistan to Mumbai. He said other locations on the devises included areas in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Rawalpindi, as well as Mumbai.
India says the gunmen who attacked Mumbai came to the city via sea from Pakistan. The FBI had conducted a probe and collected evidence following the attacks.
The attacks in Mumbai were among the deadliest terror strikes in India and led to a suspension of the formal peace process between India and Pakistan.