Nov. 29, 2008 - --NEW DELHI -- Two Pakistani suicide attackers, part of a group of 20-25 alleged Lashkar-e-Tayyeba operatives that launched a deadly attacks in Mumbai on Wednesday night, had checked into the Taj Mahal hotel four days earlier. This is what two of the apprehended terrorists now in Mumbai Police's custody told Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials.

"One of the two terrorists who had checked into the Taj Hotel on November 22 was Ajmal Amir, a resident of Faridkot, Multan. The other could have been shot dead in operations," a senior IB officer told HT after the suspects' debriefing. "The two used false identities and checked into room number 630," he added.

"The duo received several visitors between Saturday, November 22 and Wednesday, when the attacks began. These visitors carried bags probably filled with weapons and explosives." The officer said Manjar, who was also held by police, told interrogators the group was in telephonic contact with mentors in Karachi throughout the attacks.

The suspects allegedly revealed the plan to attack Mumbai was formulated by the LeT brass a year back. They also claimed the group of men "specialised in terror training at Muzaffarabad in PoK and naval training in Karachi" from Laskhar trainers, another interrogator said.

An IB alert issued last January had claimed that a team of LeT terror team had been assigned to strike in Mumbai from sea.

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