People pray and light candles at a memorial service after the terror attacks in Mumbai, India. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Tensions between the nations of India and Pakistan increased when terrorists believed to be from Pakistan attacked several tourist sites in Mumbai, India, in November. The siege lasted 30 hours and took the lives of 163 people. Over 300 people were wounded.

Mumbai is the city once known as Bombay. It is considered the financial and film capital of India. It is one of the most populated cities in the world with 13 million people. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep, natural harbor.

Authorities say that there were 10 terrorists. The attackers targeted American, British and Israeli citizens. Six of the victims were Americans.

Nine terrorists were killed in the attacks. One of the terrorists was captured alive. He has told Indian authorities he is from Pakistan. He said he was a member of a radical religious group.

Most of the people in Pakistan practice the Muslim religion. Most of the people in India follow the Hindu religion. But India has a large number of Muslims. The Muslim minority is generally poorer economically than the Hindu majority in India. Both nations are neighbors in Southeast Asia.

Attackers came by boat
The attack started around 10 p.m. on November 26th. It lasted for 30 hours. The gunmen arrived in Mumbai by boat on a Wednesday evening. They split into groups of two each.

The terrorists roamed through the city. They fired on anyone they saw. They attacked many sites, including a busy train station, a popular restaurant and a famous hotel.

Security experts say the death toll could have been reduced if police had been better equipped. Many Mumbai police officers do not have weapons. Others have very old weapons.

India was poorly prepared for an attack. It took 10 hours for the special troops that ended the attack to get to the city. The troops were stationed several hundred miles away. They did not have quick access to an airplane to take them to the scene.

India said in the days after the attack that the lone surviving gunman has been cooperating with investigators. He said he was trained for 18 months by a terrorist organization. The group has been officially banned in Pakistan. However, India says Pakistani authorities have failed to keep the group from operating.

Pakistan denies helping the terrorists
Pakistani leaders denied any members of their government aided the terrorists. They promised to follow up on any information offered by India.

Pakistan reportedly raided a camp in a remote area December 7. About a dozen people were arrested. One of them was a person named by Indian authorities as helping to plan the attack.

The U.S. and other countries sent representatives to India and Pakistan to help relieve tensions. Both nations have nuclear weapons.