EVIDENCE THROWN ON THE FACE OF PAKISTAN BY FBI
US sends FBI agents to India to investigate attack
By FOSTER KLUG and LARA JAKES JORDAN
WASHINGTON (AP) The government ordered FBI agents Friday to fly to India to investigate the bloody Mumbai attacks that killed at least five Americans. U.S. citizens still in the city were warned their lives remain at risk.
President George W. Bush pledged cooperation with Indian authorities and mourned the deaths of more than 150 people at the hands of gunmen who attacked targets across India's financial capital starting Wednesday night.
President-elect Barack Obama has spoken by telephone with Rice about the attacks and received several intelligence briefings, State Department officials said. They said Rice spoke again Friday with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them," Obama said in a statement. "The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology."
"My administration has been working with the Indian government and the international community as Indian authorities work to ensure the safety of those still under threat," Bush said in a statement from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. "We will continue to cooperate against these extremists who offer nothing but violence and hopelessness."
Bush was receiving regular updates, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Friday night. Senior administration officials were focused on ensuring that Americans were being helped in every way possible, she said.
"The administration also has continued to work with the Indian government at all levels and has offered assistance and support," Perino said.
A U.S. counterterrorism official said it was premature to reach conclusions on who may be responsible for the attacks. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said
some "signatures of the attack" were consistent with the work of militants who have fought against India in the disputed Kashmir region.
Officials were working out the final details with Indian diplomats Friday for the departure of an FBI team, said U.S. authorities, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the operation. A second group of investigators was on alert to join the first team if necessary.
"Americans are still at risk on the ground" in Mumbai on Friday, the State Department said, warning citizens not to travel to the stricken city at least through the weekend.
U.S. officials were checking with Indian authorities and hospitals to learn more about the extent of casualties.
A U.S. counterterrorism official cautioned that it was premature "to reach any hard-and-fast conclusions on who may be responsible for the attacks." But the official, who spoke on intelligence matters on condition of anonymity, added that "
some of what we're seeing is reminiscent of past terrorist operations undertaken by groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed."
Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Pamela Hess and Sharon Theimer in Washington, Tom Breen in Richmond, Va., and Juanita Cousins in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this story.
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