Q+A- Who could be behind the Mumbai attacks and why?

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades attacked luxury hotels, hospitals and a famous tourist cafe in India's commercial capital Mumbai late on Wednesday, killing at least 101 people.

* WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACKS?

The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen in an e-mail to news organisations. Deccan is an area of southern India.

But it is not clear if the claim is genuine, and analysts say the bombings are almost certainly the work of a different group.

The most likely perpetrators, they say, are either the Indian Mujahideen or Lashkar-e-Taiba.

* WHO ARE LASHKAR-E-TAIBA?

Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the largest Islamic militant groups in South Asia, based in Pakistan and fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Security analysts say it is a well-funded and highly organised group that sympathises with al Qaeda.