India Mourns Losses In Terror Attack
India Blames Pakistan; Pakistan Denies Involvement
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Bush: US Behind India In Wake Of Attacks
President George W. Bush is pledging full U.S. support for India and has sent FBI agents to help investigate.President George W. Bush said Saturday the terrorists "will not have the final word." Speaking at the White House, Bush said the world's oldest democracy will stand behind the world's biggest democracy as it "brings the guilty to justice." He added that India's leaders can know that "nations around the world support them in the face of this assault on human dignity." Bush held an hour-long video-teleconference with U.S. diplomats in India about the attacks, which killed at least 195 people including six Americans. He said the U.S. is working to make sure all Americans in India are safe.Death Toll Could Still Rise In Mumbai
It was feared Saturday that the death toll will rise as Indian authorities comb the sites where terrorists killed at least 195 people in Mumbai.One official said the gunmen had sophisticated communication equipment, and "were constantly in touch with a foreign country."He refused to give more details.As the clean up goes on, the cremations have begun. Many of them are security force members killed during the fighting.Some 295 were wounded in the nearly three-day-long attack.A previously unknown Muslim group with a name suggesting origins inside India claimed responsibility. Indian officials said the sole surviving gunman was from Pakistan and laid blame with "elements in Pakistan." The government of Pakistan has vigorously denied all accusations that it was tied to the attacks.Pakistan Explains Why Lower-Level Official Going To India
Pakistan's president said his country is fighting the same extremist groups as neighboring India and is blaming "miscommunication" for the decision not to send the country's spy chief to help investigate the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. President Asif Ali Zardari insists he's sincere about pledges to stand with India in the wake of the attacks. He said Pakistan faces the same threats, and that he's as "committed as can be" because he's trying to save his nation and the future of his children. Pakistan's prime minister said Friday the spy chief would go to India, but officials on Saturday said it will be a lower-ranking intelligence official instead. Zardari said India asked only for a "director" of the agency, not its head. The original announcement triggered sharp criticism from some Pakistani opposition politicians, and a cool response from the army, which controls the agency.Last Battle
Before the end of fighting, smoke billowed from the Taj Mahal hotel as Indian forces battled militants making a last stand inside the Mumbai landmark.Flames could be seen in several windows on the building's ground floor.As fighting stretched into a fourth day, the luxury hotel was wracked by hours of intermittent gunfire and explosions.Witnesses Describe Mumbai Experiences
A woman from Nashville, Tenn., who was shot during the attacks in Mumbai, said the terrorists were on them "within two minutes."Andreina Varagona was having dinner with friends in the Oberoi hotel when gunshots rang out. She was wounded in the right leg and right arm. Varagona said, "There were bodies everywhere," and that she felt like she "was in a movie."A waiter at the Mumbai hotel said that at first, he thought the shooting was rows of liquor bottles exploding behind the bar. But then he saw a woman screaming, and a man spraying gunfire.An Indian commando said the attackers fired indiscriminately, and were "very, very familiar with the hotel layouts." He said they "appeared to be a determined lot."U.S Citizens Die
The State Department said U.S. citizens remain in peril. Americans were urged to stay out of Mumbai at least through the weekend.The dead include a rabbi from New York and his wife. They were among the five bodies found in a Jewish center. A spokesman for their movement identifies them as Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg. The couple's toddler son, Moshe, survived the assault and was taken out of the center by an employee. He is now with his grandparents.Denver Rabbi Avi Mintz said he has been friends with Gavi Holtzberg since third grade, television station KMGH reported. Holtzberg and Mintz grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., together."(Moshe's) birthday is tomorrow," Mintz said. "He's celebrating his second birthday tomorrow and what I heard directly from family and friends is all he's asking for is his mom and dad."Mintz said Holtzberg was always brilliant and sacrificed a life of luxury to help others."It's a terrible tragedy. He was someone who grew up in New York and left all the luxuries of being a religious Jew in New York," said Mentz. "He moved out to (India) where it's not easy to live a religious life -- not for his own benefit but to teach and share his Judaism."Two other victims are a father and his 13-year-old daughter from Virginia. A spokesman for their group identified them as Alan and Naomi Scherr.The Scherrs were two members of the Faber, Va.-based Synchronicity Foundation who traveled to India to participate in a spiritual program, said group spokeswoman Bobbie Garvey."We choose to reflect and remember Alan and Naomi, two beautiful people who brought so much into our lives and who will always remain in our hearts," a statement on the group's Web site said.Alan Scherr's wife, Kia, and her two sons didn't travel with them to India."Alan and his wife, Kia, have been integral members of the Synchronicity community for more than a decade since moving to Faber with their young daughter, Naomi," the statement continued. "Alan committed most of his adult life to meditation, spirituality and conscious living."Four members of the 25-person group -- two Americans and two Canadians -- who were staying at the Oberoi Hotel were wounded by gunfire, and were believed to be in stable condition, Synchronicity said in a statement.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.










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