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MUMBAI (AFP) - - India’s interior minister resigned Sunday as anger grew over intelligence failures leading up to the attacks on Mumbai and investigators focused on a Pakistan-based Islamic militant group.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil said he took “moral responsibility” for the assault by heavily-armed militants which left nearly 200 people dead and transformed parts of Mumbai into a war zone for three days.

With tensions escalating in South Asia, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari urged India not to “over-react” after Indian and US officials suggested the gunmen could have been members of Lashkar-e-Taiba .

Lashkar, which is fighting Indian control of the disputed Kashmir region, was behind a deadly 2001 assault on the Indian parliament that pushed New Delhi and Islamabad to the brink of war.

Indian media reported that the only surviving militant had identified all the Mumbai attackers as Pakistanis who had been trained by Lashkar.

Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, who was caught on a CCTV camera wearing a T-shirt with a “Versace” logo, was being interrogated in a safe house in Mumbai, reports said.

US counter-terrorism officials told AFP that evidence was emerging that Lashkar could have been behind the attacks, while Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said “elements in Pakistan ” were responsible.

One militant holding hostages in a Jewish cultural centre in Mumbai had suggested that the treatment of Muslims in Indian Kashmir was a prime motivation behind the attack.

“Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir?” the militant, speaking in Urdu, told a television station by telephone. He was later shot dead by commandos.

Pakistan, which has fought two wars with India over Kashmir, moved quickly to deny any links with the attacks .

Zardari warned that the militants were “looking for reaction” and said India suspected the militants could be based in Pakistan. He pledged prompt action against anyone responsible.

Lashkar, which operated openly in Pakistan until being outlawed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, has denied responsibility.

Around a dozen militants launched their assault on Wednesday evening when they split into groups and struck targets across Mumbai, including the main railway station and a hospital.

Security forces regained control of the city 60 hours later when they killed the last three gunmen holed up with hostages inside the Taj Mahal hotel.

On Friday elite troops had stormed the Jewish centre and killed two gunmen — but found eight dead Israeli hostages.

Another luxury hotel that was attacked, the Oberoi/Trident, was cleared of militants later in the day, with scores of trapped guests rescued and dozens of bodies found.

The latest toll was 195 people dead and nearly 300 injured.

About 30 foreigners were killed including five Americans, two French, two Australians and two Canadians.

Some militants entered Mumbai by boat, while others had arrived a month ago to stockpile arms and explosives and infiltrate the targets.

They had enough ammunition to kill 5,000 people and never issued any demands for the hostages’ release, officials said Sunday.

Survivors gave terrifying accounts of the carnage .

British actor Joey Jeetun was caught up in the violence when the Leopold cafe , a restaurant popular with expatriates, was attacked.

The 31-year-old, who played a suicide bomber in a British television documentary, said terrorists assumed he was dead because he was covered in other people’s blood.

He was then detained as a possible suspect and held for 13 hours in a police cell.

Phillippe Meyer, who had been on a business trip to Mumbai, said he was stuck in one of the hotels targeted by militants.

“We found ourselves shut away in our rooms for a very long time, about 40 hours. The information was very confusing,” said Meyer, 53, as he returned to France.

Television footage of the inside of the Taj hotel showed half-eaten meals left on tables as diners fled for their lives.

Witnesses said the attackers had specifically rounded up people with US and British passports.

The United States, Israel and Britain were among countries that offered expert assistance to help with the investigation.
SOURCE YAHOO