Mumbai gunman Kasab executed

21 November 2012 03:41 am

The sole gunman to survive the attacks on Mumbai in 2008, Mohammed Kasab, has been executed in an Indian prison, an official says.

Mohammed Kasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been hanged in an Indian prison, the home minister of western Maharashta state says.

"He was hanged at 7.30 (1300 AEDT) this morning," R.R. Patil told reporters on Wednesday at a press conference in Mumbai.

Kasab was executed at Yerwada jail in Pune after India's President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy plea earlier this month.

The Pakistan-born Kasab was one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to the city in attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people.

Kasab was sentenced to death in May 2010 after he was found guilty of a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts.

He appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming he did not receive a fair trial, but his petition was struck down in August.

During the 2008 attacks, the heavily armed Islamist gunmen stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station.

India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant organisation for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with support from "elements" in the Pakistan military .(AAP)