Indian police said today they had found evidence that Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai and Pakistan's military spy agency was behind the plot.
"We have solved the July 11 bombings case. The whole attack was planned by Pakistan's ISI and carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and their operatives in India," AN Roy, Mumbai's police chief, told a news conference. ISI or the Inter-Services Intelligence agency is Pakistan's military spy agency.
The announcement came a day after Mumbai police said they had arrested four more people in connection with the attacks on rush-hour commuter trains and stations that killed 186 people and wounded hundreds.
The new arrests took the total number of people in custody for their alleged role in the blasts to more than 15. They include an engineer, a journalist, a computer software professional and a doctor.
Seven blasts ripped through commuter trains and platforms in India's financial hub and home of Bollywood cinema. In the immediate aftermath, Indian security officials blamed local Muslims with links to Pakistan, and named Lashkar-e-Taiba as a prime suspect.
The Pakistani government and Lashkar have denied any role in the attacks and Islamabad offered to help with investigations
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said today the West would be "brought to its knees" without his country's support in the fight against terrorism.
In a interview with BBC radio, he defended his country against claims it was a poor ally in the US-led war against terrorism. "Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you won't manage anything," he said.
Earlier this week, a leaked document from a think tank associated with Britain's Defence Ministry accused Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, of indirectly supporting al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has reassured Musharraf that the report does not represent government policy.