India admits security lapses

The Indian government acknowledged Friday that the militant attacks on Mumbai had exposed lapses in security, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the strike originated on a neighbor’s soil, a clear reference to Pakistan.

The Congress Party-led ruling coalition is facing renewed criticism from the opposition, which accuses it of being weak on security after the three-day rampage by gunmen in India’s financial capital last week.

“I would be less than truthful if I said there were no lapses,” new Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters in Mumbai. “We will address the causes that led to the lapses.”

Chidambaram took the post Sunday after his predecessor quit amid public fury at the government’s failure to prevent the attacks.

Pakistan has condemned the assault and denied state involvement and promised to help the Indian probe. But it wants to see proof first. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani said Friday that the Mumbai attackers must not be allowed to derail the peace process between India and Pakistan. Mumbai police have said the gunmen were controlled by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group. The violence left more than 171 people dead. India has said nine militants were killed and one captured alive.

Also on Friday, a missile was fired, possibly by a U.S. drone, into North Waziristan, an area near the Afghan border where Al Qaeda and Taliban militants have bases. At least three people were killed, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

In Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, a car bomb killed at least 20 people and wounded scores Friday, officials said.