January 24, 2002	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 9, 1422

NEW DELHI, Jan 23: The gunmen who opened fire on the American Center in Kolkata appeared to be targeting the local police instead of the United States, Indian and US officials said.

Indian authorities said two groups quickly claimed responsibility for the assault: a band of Indian criminals and a radical Muslim organization with alleged connections to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Although both groups are under investigation, Indian government officials said they were focusing on the criminals, known as the Raza Commando Force,

A senior Indian government official said it appeared that “revenge motives, local motives” were behind the shooting. A US official said American diplomats and security officers investigating the incident “are not convinced this was an attack on the United States”.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, who was in New Delhi on Tuesday, called the incident a “horrible tragedy and an assault on police officers”, but he said “categorizing it beyond that . . . would be inappropriate at this time”.

The centre houses a library, the public affairs office for the consulate here and a wing for cultural programmes.

Over the years, it has been the site of frequent but peaceful anti-American protests by labor unions and communists, who dominate West Bengal’s government.—Dawn\LAT-WP News Service (c) Los Angeles Times