U.S. Official Claims India was Warned of Potential Plot

A senior U.S. official noted yesterday that India received intelligence from the United States about a potential attack on Mumbai, including information about the likelihood of the attacks being waterborne. The attack that followed, which lasted for three days and killed at least 172 people and wounded another 239, has left the Indian government under heavy criticism for security and intelligence failures. The latest news of intelligence reports is certain to stoke unrest even further.

Meanwhile, India is demanding that neighboring Pakistan take action against those taking part in the attacks, with U.S. pressure on Pakistan to comply. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit India today to further discuss the matter. The attacks left only one surviving attacker, who has claimed that he and his fellow militants trained for several months in camps set up specifically for that purpose in Pakistan. The camps, he claimed, were run by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group that has been banned by the Pakistani government.

The U.S. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated further that reports had been forwarded to India since September, noting that an attack was imminent from Pakistan-based terrorists against targets in Mumbai and that hotels were likely to be included. The attacks that occurred last week centered on Mumbai’s famous Taj Mahal Hotel, but according to Ratan Tata, chairman of the hotel’s parent company, U.S. intelligence "could not have stopped what took place. They [the attackers] didn’t come through that entrance. They came from somewhere in the back"