The US warned India about a possible threat at least a month before last week’s Mumbai attacks, US media have quoted unnamed officials as saying.
One senior US official also told the BBC there were “strong indications” that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba group was behind the carnage.
Pakistan, which has denied having any involvement, has offered India a joint investigation team.
At least 188 people are now known to have died in the coordinated attacks.
One US official said that India had been told of an apparent plot to launch an attack on Mumbai from the sea, Associated Press news agency reported.
The reports came as India’s navy chief said there had been “systemic failures” in the country’s security and intelligence services.
Seaborne attack
Indian officials have repeatedly said there is evidence that the militants behind the attacks had Pakistani links.
CAPTURED GUNMAN
Undated photo of Azam Amir Qasab in hospital
Suspect named as Azam Amir Qasab, 21
Fluent English speaker
Told police he is from Faridkot in Pakistan’s Punjab province
Said the attackers took orders from handlers in Pakistan
One of the gunmen, named as Azam Amir Qasab, survived and is in police custody. Police have said he is “certainly” from Pakistan.
The Indian media have said he is linked to the Kashmiri militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, or Army of the Pure, but the group has denied responsibility.
An Indian official appeared to confirm the US media reports that there was a known threat to at least some of the locations targeted, including the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
Mumbai police chief Hassan Gafoor told a news conference on Tuesday that security authorities had “had an alert that hotels like Taj could be exposed to such danger”.
ABC News quoted Indian officials as saying that after receiving the US warning, they also intercepted a satellite phone message on 18 November warning of a seaborne attack on Mumbai.
The city had been on high alert but security measures at the attacked hotels had recently been relaxed, the network reported.
ABC also reported that the Indian authorities had seized a mobile phone SIM card belonging to the attackers, which they said had led to a “treasure trove” of contacts and information.
Source
lo kalo baat :hehe: they already knew about the possible attack on Mumbai from Pakistan soil, so does anyone need more proof?
coz that’s what you people believe on. Oh, ya please do check the ISI stamp first 