Mumbai is still a target for extremists nearly one year on from a deadly strike by Islamist gunmen, a senior police chief said Friday, welcoming improvements in security but calling for more to be done.
"Mumbai shall remain on the terror hit list" because of the effect it would have on the Indian economy, and the "ripple effects" it would cause across the world, said the head of the Maharahstra state police, A.N. Roy.
A total of 166 people died and more than 300 were injured when 10 heavily-armed men attacked a number of high-profile locations in the south of India's financial capital, including two luxury hotels, on November 26.
The Indian government and intelligence services were heavily criticised for not preventing the attacks, while local police were found to be over-stretched, under-resourced and uncoordinated in their response.
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Roy told a conference at the Trident hotel, which was stormed by the militants, that unlike previous attacks in the city, there had been a sustained response from the authorities to improve counter-terrorism and security.
"What did not happen happen in 10 years seems to be happening in one year. That has been the impact of 26/11," he told the meeting of security experts, including the former head of US homeland security Michael Chertoff and Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson.
"Definitely in the last one year, our response mechanism has improved and improved drastically. Today, we feel much more confident than we were one year ago -- but still there is a long way to go."
Headley had stayed in a Delhi hotel before 26/11
Improvements in the use of technology -- particularly harnessing expertise in the Indian IT sector -- were required to tackle increasingly educated, professional and tech-savvy global extremists, he said.
"Whereas the terrorists have access to the latest technology, communications and resources, we still are many, many, many steps behind. We are at a very nascent stage," he said.
