Grief, anger as India reckons with its own "9/11"

By Phil Smith and Krittivas Mukherjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shock gave way to grief and anger on Saturday as India grappled with what newpapers called its own "9/11" and protesters accused neighbouring Pakistan of being behind attacks that killed 195 people.

Commandos and rescue personnel were cleaning up the wreckage of a three-day rampage when about 50 protesters gathered near the smouldering Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

"Our soldiers came and Pakistan ran away," they shouted, pumping their fists skyward.

India has blamed the strikes on "elements" from nuclear rival Pakistan and evidence is mounting that the Islamist gunmen may have hatched their plan there.

For relatives of the victims, the reality of the attacks was laid bare at a morgue at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

"For three days, we kept hearing different reports about my sister. Finally, today when I saw her, her face was blown off," said a relative of journalist Sabina Saikia, who was killed inside the Taj Mahal hotel.

A text message circulated throughout Mumbai urging people to wear black on Sunday. Many lit candles in cities across the country on Saturday as a mark of condolence.

Elsewhere across India, thousands mourned 20 policemen and soldiers killed fighting the heavily armed militants who turned India's commercial and entertainment capital into a war zone with coordinated assaults on city landmarks.