Mumbai attacks spark outrage in city fed up with terrorism

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Indian officials remain unsure about who is behind Wednesday's blasts in Mumbai, in which three bombs went off in different spots in the city, but Mumbaikers and others across the country know that regardless of the investigation's outcome, they are fed up with the government's inability to tamp down terror.

The only concrete clue so far is the sophistication of the bombs used, implying that the bombers had explosives training and may have used timers to synchronize the explosions, according to The New York Times. “They were not crude bombs but sophisticated devices," Home Secretary R.K. Singh said. “Only somebody who has training can assemble those devices."

Rain has hampered efforts to gather evidence from the sites and no potential suspects have been identified.

Inspection of footage from surveillance cameras revealed persons behaving suspiciously at the scenes of the attacks, but no more is known about them, BBC reports. The owner of a scooter in which explosives were planted has been identified as well, according to the Indian Express.

Indians are lashing out against the government, asking why an overhaul of the country's security forces after the deadly 2008 shooting spree did not prevent another attack. After 2008, the government expanded its police forces and their training, invested in new equipment, and beefed up its police arsenal. It also created a federal agency specifically to investigate terrorist attacks.

The government's response is that it's unlikely it will ever be able to completely stop terror attacks, the Associated Press reports.

"We live in the most troubled neighborhood in the world," said Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, pointing to nearby Pakistan and Afghanistan. "Every part of India is vulnerable."

The government has praised Mumbaikers for their ability to endure the attacks. Such rhetoric about the city's strength is a deflection from the real issue – the fact that it can't do anything, writes Ramesh Thakur in The Australian.

(The government) seems to soak up the warm and fuzzy feelings of rhetorical pats on the back from foreign leaders about courage, resilience, patience and refusal to be provoked into any retaliatory action against countries from where the attacks originate.

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