SNAP ANALYSIS: Suspicion falls on India's neighbors over attacks

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday that the attacks in Mumbai which killed more than 100 people were probably plotted by a group based in a neighboring country.

The Indian government often blames Pakistan or sometimes Bangladesh for supporting or harboring militant groups which have launched attacks on Indian soil.

* A little known group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

On the surface, it could be presenting itself as an offshoot of the Indian Mujahideen group, domestic Muslim militants blamed for a series of bomb blasts on Indian cities this year and last.

But the sophisticated and well-coordinated nature of the attack suggests the group received training either from a military group or a well established Islamist organization like al Qaeda.

* The use of heavily armed "fedayeen" or suicide attackers bears the hallmarks of Pakistan-based militant groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed, blamed for a 2001 attack on India's parliament.

Both groups made their name fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, and were closely linked in the past to the Pakistani military's Inter Services Intelligence agency, the ISI.

It is hard to imagine Pakistan's government supporting such an attack, but militants, possibly backed by rogue elements in the ISI, might want to undermine the India-Pakistan peace process and Pakistan's civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pressure has mounted on militant groups in Kashmir in recent years as they have lost support of many locals. Kashmiris have been turning out in decent numbers to vote in state elections which began earlier this month, another blow for the militants.

* One of the attackers phoned an Indian television channel on Thursday to complain that the Indian army was killing Muslims in disputed Kashmir. He spoke Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent.

Lashkar-e-Taiba has denied any role in the attacks.

* The attackers also appeared to single out British, American and Israeli nationals when taking hostages. This approach is reminiscent of groups linked to al Qaeda, and their direct or indirect involvement remains a possibility. It may also suggest a broader Islamist agenda than merely a Kashmiri separatist one.

(Editing by Myra MacDonald)