Gunmen may have escaped commandos

Washington: Several attackers may have survived the three-day siege of Mumbai that killed 171 people last week, analysts said on Thursday.

"I think there are more. My sources say [there were] at least 23 of the gunmen," said Farhana Ali, a former CIA and Rand Corp counterterrorism analyst and expert on militant networks. Ali, who most recently visited India and Pakistan last month before the attacks, said her information came from Pakistan, but declined to further identify the source.

"If that's true, that makes one wonder why we haven't seen more attacks. Are they lying low?" she said "I think they [Indian authorities] are bracing themselves for more," she said.

Ali spoke at a briefing for US government counterterrorism and military officials, and others. It was sponsored by the Counterterrorism Foundation, which supports research and publication on terrorism issues.

Security scare

A security scare at the New Delhi airport early yesterday, in which media reported a shootout after what India's NDTV described as two sharp sounds, underscored the country's raw nerves. NDTV said a police sweep turned up nothing unusual and a witness said operations appeared normal.

Indian authorities have said 10 gunmen took part in the Mumbai attacks last week. But reports early in the attacks cited police as estimating there were 25 gunmen.

David Kilcullen, who has served as a senior counterterrorism adviser to US General David Petraeus and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said he agreed that were probably more attackers.