Captured militant tells of training in Pakistan

By Krittivas Mukherjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The gunman captured during the attacks on Mumbai said he had undergone months of commando-style training in an Islamist militant camp in Pakistan, two senior officials involved in the investigation said.

The training was organised by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, and conducted by a former member of the Pakistani army, a police officer close to the interrogation said, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to give his name.

"They underwent training in several phases, which included training in handling weapons, bomb making, survival strategies, survival in a marine environment and even dietary habits," another senior officer told Reuters.

The Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba made its name fighting Indian rule in Kashmir but was also blamed for an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 that brought the nuclear-armed neighbours close to war.

Lashkar had had close links to Pakistan's military spy agency in the past, security experts say, although the government in Islamabad insists it too is fighting the group and other Islamist extremists based on its soil.

Azam Amir Kasav, a clean-shaven, 21-year-old with fluent English who was photographed during the attack wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the Versace logo, said his team took orders from "their command in Pakistan", police officials said.

Ten militants arrived on the Mumbai shoreline in a dinghy on Wednesday before splitting into four groups and embarking on a killing spree that left 183 people dead.

They then held off India's elite commandos for up to 60 hours in two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre in the city. Nine of the gunmen were killed.