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US sends FBI agents to India to investigate attack
WASHINGTON — The government ordered FBI agents Friday to fly to India to investigate the bloody Mumbai attacks that killed at least five Americans. U.S. citizens still in the city were warned their lives remain at risk.
Intelligence officials looked urgently for clues about the identity of the attackers, a crucial unknown as Indian officials charged, without giving details, that "elements in Pakistan" were involved. A tentative rapprochement between the two nuclear-armed rivals could hang in the balance, and a U.S. counterintelligence official cautioned against rushing to judgment on the origins of the militants.
President George W. Bush pledged cooperation with Indian authorities and mourned the deaths of more than 150 people at the hands of gunmen who attacked targets across India's financial capital starting Wednesday night.
"My administration has been working with the Indian government and the international community as Indian authorities work to ensure the safety of those still under threat," Bush said in a statement from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. "We will continue to cooperate against these extremists who offer nothing but violence and hopelessness."
Bush was receiving regular updates, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Friday night. Senior administration officials were focused on ensuring that Americans were being helped in every way possible, she said.
"The administration also has continued to work with the Indian government at all levels and has offered assistance and support," Perino said.
A U.S. counterterrorism official said it was premature to reach conclusions on who may be responsible for the attacks. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said some "signatures of the attack" were consistent with the work of militants who have fought against India in the disputed Kashmir region.
Officials were working out the final details with Indian diplomats Friday for the departure of an FBI team, said U.S. authorities, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the operation. A second group of investigators was on alert to join the first team if necessary.
"Americans are still at risk on the ground" in Mumbai on Friday, the State Department said, warning citizens not to travel to the stricken city at least through the weekend.
U.S. officials were checking with Indian authorities and hospitals to learn more about the extent of casualties.
Among the dead were:
_Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, and his wife, Rivkah, 28. They were killed in an attack on the ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement's center in Mumbai, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin said in New York. Officials could not confirm whether Rivkah Holtzberg was, like her husband, an American citizen.
_Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli with dual U.S. citizenship who was visiting the center.
_Rabbi Leibish Teitlebaum of Brooklyn, N.Y., who was visiting the center.
_Alan Scherr, 58, and daughter Naomi, 13, of Virginia, who died in a cafe Wednesday night. They lived at the Synchronicity Foundation sanctuary about 15 miles southwest of Charlottesville, Va., and were among 25 foundation participants in a spiritual program in Mumbai, said Bobbie Garvey, a spokeswoman for the foundation, which promotes a form of meditation.
The State Department confirmed that five Americans had died but offered no details. Spokesman Gordon Duguid said consular staff would continue to work with Indian police until all missing Americans were accounted for.
U.S. officials have activated a phone tree to contact American citizens who registered with the U.S. consulate in Mumbai, State Department spokesman Robert McInturff said.
Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, said in a statement that his country is "confronting the menace of terrorism with great vigor." Haqqani insisted "it is unfair to blame Pakistan or Pakistanis for these acts of terrorism even before an investigation is undertaken."
A U.S. counterterrorism official cautioned that it was premature "to reach any hard-and-fast conclusions on who may be responsible for the attacks." But the official, who spoke on intelligence matters on condition of anonymity, added that "some of what we're seeing is reminiscent of past terrorist operations undertaken by groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed."
The two groups mentioned by the official are Pakistani militants who have fought Indian troops in Kashmir and are reported to be linked to al-Qaida.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. U.S. officials are concerned about a flare-up in animosity similar to one that occurred after Pakistani militants attacked the Indian parliament in December 2001, officials said.
Underscoring those fears, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called the foreign minister of India twice, along with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, since the crisis began.
"There were very worrying tensions in the region," Duguid said. "She was calling the president of Pakistan to get his read on how those tensions might be affected."
Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said that "as we continue to learn the details about the attacks and those responsible for them, we must not allow them to undermine the progress that has been made to foster better relations between India and its neighbor Pakistan, two critical partners in our global fight against terrorism."
President-elect Barack Obama has spoken by telephone with Rice about the attacks and received several intelligence briefings, State Department officials said. They said Rice spoke again Friday with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them," Obama said in a statement. "The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology."
The State Department set up a call center for Americans concerned about family members who may be in Mumbai. The number is 1-888-407-4747.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Pamela Hess and Sharon Theimer in Washington, Tom Breen in Richmond, Va., and Juanita Cousins in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this story.
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