Mumbai attacker makes surprise guilty plea

MUMBAI: The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks pleaded guilty yesterday and gave a detailed account of the plot and his role in the rampage that left 166 people dead and paralyzed the city for three days.

In a verbal statement, Ajmal Kasab described his group's journey from Karachi, Pakistan on a boat, their subsequent landing in Mumbai on Nov 26, and his assault on a railway station and a hospital with a comrade he identified as Abu Ismail.

The other gunmen, also armed with automatic rifles and grenades, attacked a Jewish center and two five-star hotels, including the Taj Mahal. The rampage ended at the historic hotel days later after commandos killed the attackers holed up there.