The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said today it was too early to tell the motives of an attack on Indian police outside a US cultural centre in Calcutta, India.
FBI Director Robert Mueller, in India for talks on building international co-operation against terrorism, said it would be premature for him to comment on the attack in which at least four policemen died.
"It is too early to tell what the motivation was", he told a news conference in the heavily guarded US embassy in New Delhi.
Indian Interior Minister Mr Lal Krishna Advani told a seminar that a group previously involved in kidnapping in Calcutta had claimed responsibility.
He said the group was believed to have links with Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. Pakistan described the allegations as baseless .
"I understand that there have been claims of responsibility for the attack. I also understand that the investigation is ongoing and my experience shows that making particular comments about what occurred eight hours ago is premature," Mr Mueller said.
"I have to wait to see what the facts bear out to see responsibility and motivation for the attack. I am unaware of specific information in recent days relating to attacks on particular [American] facilities," he said.
The American Centre, one of the two US government buildings in Calcutta, houses a popular library on two floors, the embassy's public affairs office and the press section, and a wing where cultural programmes are held.