WORLD: Sole surviving Mumbai gunman admits role in terror attacks

The sole surviving gunman in the Mumbai terror attacks dramatically admitted his role in the massacre today.

Ajmal Kasab stood up during his trial at a special court in the Indian city and told the judge: "Sir, I plead guilty to my crime." His confession, which follows months of denials, triggered a collective gasp in the courtroom.

Judge ML Tahiliyani, who appeared taken aback, called lawyers from both sides to discuss Kasab's statement.

A total of 166 people were killed in the attacks by 10 gunmen in Mumbai, India's financial capital, that began on 26 November last year. It ended three days later when troops stormed the Taj Mahal hotel where some of the gunmen were holed up.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Kasab to make the statement after consistently denying his guilt.

Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said: "Everybody in the court was shocked the moment he said he accepts his crime. It was unexpected."

Harish Salve, a senior supreme court lawyer, said it was not clear whether Kasab had confessed voluntarily. "I am sorry to play the party spoiler. But I hope he doesn't come the day after and give it another twist," he said.

If the confession holds up in court it will boost India's claims that terrorist groups in Pakistan were behind the attack and that Islamabad was not doing enough to clamp down on them. The allegations have severely strained relations between the two nuclear-armed countries. Pakistan has acknowledged that the Mumbai attacks were partly plotted on its soil.

In his lengthy statement, Kasab gave details of his group's journey from Pakistan on a boat, their subsequent landing in Mumbai, and the bloody rampage that followed as the gunmen slaughtered people at a railway station, a Jewish centre and two five-star hotels, including the Taj Mahal.

Kasab was arrested after a shootout with police on the first day of the attacks. He was wounded and has since been held in solitary confinement in Mumbai's Arthur Road prison.

Last month the Mumbai court issued arrest warrants for 22 Pakistanis accused of masterminding the attacks. India blames Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group's founder, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, was arrested in December but freed after a court in Lahore ruled there was no evidence against him.