More Than 170 Killed in Mumbai Terror Attacks

On Saturday, officials in Mumbai continued hunting for clues, and for bodies, in the wake of the terror siege that began Wednesday in the Indian megalopolis. More than 170 people are known dead. The Pakistani government is denying involvement in the attacks and offering to cooperate if any connection is discovered between the perpetrators and Pakistan. President Bush has also pledged his support.

As The New York Times also reported Saturday, some Indians are viewing the siege as their “personal 9/11.”

The New York Times:

Perhaps the most troubling question to emerge Saturday for the Indian authorities was how, if official estimates are accurate, just 10 gunmen could have caused so much carnage and repelled Indian security forces for more than three days in three different buildings.

Part of the answer may lie in how, despite the country’s stark vulnerability to terrorist attacks, Indian law enforcement remains woefully ill-prepared. The siege, for instance, exposed problems caused by inexperience and inadequate equipment, including a lack of high-power rifle scopes and other optics to help troops discriminate between the attackers and civilians.

As the investigation continued, it was unclear whether the attackers had collaborators already in the city, or whether others in their group had escaped. All told, the gunmen struck about 10 sites in bustling south Mumbai.

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