Official: Pakistan group leaders linked to attacks

A bomb disposal squad officer, center, takes a suspicious box to the police station after diffusing a bomb at Chhatrapati Shivaji train station in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Police on Wednesday discovered leftover explosives hidden in a bag in Mumbai’s main train station, a stunning new example of botched security after the deadly rampage that left the government open to accusations it missed warnings and bungled its response. (AP Photo)

MUMBAI, India (AP) — India suspects that two senior leaders of a banned Pakisanti militant group masterminded last week’s three-day terrorist attacks that killed 171 people in Mumbai, an Indian intelligence official said Thursday.

Evidence collected in the investigation of the deadly siege points to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Yusuf Muzammil, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the details.

Lakhvi and Muzammil are believed to be top members of the outlawed Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India blames in attacks. Muzammil is the group’s chief of operations in Kashmir and other parts of India and Lakhvi its chief of operations, officials said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for meetings with civilian and military leaders after visiting Indian leaders in New Delhi. She aimed to raise pressure on Pakistan’s government to help get to the bottom of the terror attacks.

The U.S. wants Pakistan to do more to go after terror cells rooted in Pakistan. Rice traded places with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, who was pushing the same message in Pakistan on Wednesday. He was in the Indian capital on Thursday.

Meanwhile, police found two bombs at Mumbai’s main train station nearly a week after they were left there by gunmen behind the attacks_ a stunning new example of the botched security that has sparked outrage in India since the deadly three-day siege.

The discovery Wednesday came as Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India is “determined to act decisively” following the attacks, saying the evidence was clear the gunmen came from Pakistan and their handlers are still there.

His words, the strongest yet from the government, came as thousands of Indians — many calling for war with Pakistan — held a vigil in Mumbai to mark one week since the start of the rampage.

While searching through a mound of about 150 bags, which police believed were left by the dozens of victims in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station, an officer found a suspicious-looking bag and called the bomb squad, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Bapu Domre. Inside were two 8.8-pound (4-kilogram) bombs, which were taken away and safely detonated, he said.

After the attacks, police found unexploded bombs at several of the sites, including two luxury hotels and a Jewish center.

It was not immediately clear why the bags at the station were not examined earlier. The station, which serves hundreds of thousands of commuters, was declared safe and reopened hours after the attack.

The discovery has added to increasing accusations that India’s security forces missed warnings and bungled its response to the Nov. 26-29 attacks.

Indian navy chief Sureesh Mehta has called the response to the attacks “a systemic failure.” The country’s top law enforcement official has resigned amid criticism that the 10 gunmen appeared better coordinated and better armed than police in Mumbai.

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