'Close cooperation among intelligence agencies post 26/11'

After the terror attacks in Mumbai there has been an unprecedented level of co-operation between various intelligence agencies of the world including those from India, Britain, the US and Pak, America's top intelligence official has said.

After the terror attacks in Mumbai there has been an unprecedented level of co-operation between various intelligence agencies of the world including those from India, Britain, the US and Pakistan, America's top intelligence official has said.

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"Even before the crisis ended, the investigation had begun," FBI Director Robert Muller said on Monday while delivering a speech on FBI's role in global terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"Agents from FBI offices in New Delhi and Islamabad joined forces with Indian government, the CIA, the State Department, MI-6 and New Scotland Yard," he said.

Through these partnerships, Muller said: "We had unprecedented access to evidence and intelligence. Agents and analysts conducted more than 60 interviews, including that of the lone surviving attacker.

"Our forensic specialists pulled fingerprints and DNA from improvised explosive devices," he said. FBI agents recovered data from damaged cell phones and in one case by literally wiring a smashed phone back together.

"At the same time, we collected, analyzed, and disseminated intelligence to our partners at home and abroad, not only to determine how these attacks were planned and by whom, but to ensure that if a second wave of attacks was in the offing, we possessed the intelligence to stop it. Our work in Mumbai was not out of the ordinary," he said.