Mumbai manhunt for 'four Lashkar-e-Taiba militants'
Mumbai police have released a picture of one of the suspects and named him as Walid Jinnah
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Police are scouring Mumbai for four Pakistani alleged militants believed to have entered the city to carry out an attack, a top police official said.
There was credible information that at least four members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group were in the city, said the police commissioner.
Police have released a sketch of one of the suspects, set up checkpoints and placed extra officers on patrol.
India blames LeT for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people.
Roads were closed on Friday in and around the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel - the focus of the deadly siege two years ago - and armed police were patrolling at high-profile sites, including consulates.
Joint police commissioner Himanshu Roy told a news conference on Thursday evening: "The four men are planning violent attacks that are going to cause destruction."
"The four have recently arrived in Mumbai. We believe the threat is serious," he added.
Indian police issued a similar warning in September about a possible attack by two Islamist militants in the city, which is India's financial capital, but nothing happened and no arrests were made.
A police official in Mumbai has warned four suspected militants of Pakistani origin have entered the city, the capital of Maharashtra, India, and claims they are plotting attacks in the city. Police are now searching for the four people, thought to be members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Islamic  militant group the Indian government holds responsible for the coordinated attacks which hit Mumbai in 2008. Joint police commissioner Himanshu Roy says intelligence suggests "the threat is serious."
Lashkar-e-Taiba are thought to be responsible for the coordinated attacks which hit Mumbai in 2008. 

A United States counter-terrorism official said the attacks are likely imminent, and will occur over the Christmas and New Year period. "There's no question LeT remains interested in pulling off another large-scale attack in India," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, "and we are alert to the possibility that LeT might again try a holiday attack."

Speaking at a press conference, Roy said "they have recently arrived in Mumbai. We are not in a position to reveal their nationalities now but they are LeT members."


Armed police have been posted around high-profile destinations in the city, and roads around the —seiged by militants in the 2008 attacks—have been closed. Police have released a sketch of one of the militants believed to be in the city.

"The police are on high alert all over the city. We cannot take any of these intelligence inputs lightly in the holiday season," another Mumbai official said. "Since yesterday, we are checking all the possible hideouts, small lodges and guesthouses, railway stations. We are checking all the vehicles that are coming into the city."

166 people died and hundreds more were injured in the 2008 attacks, in which multiple gunmen attacked the  railway station, a hospital, a police station, and numerous hotels, amongst other sites. The attacks were dubbed "India's 9/11" by local media. Only one militant survived the attacks, Ajmal Amir Kasab; in May this year he was sentenced to death by hanging, on 86 charges, including murder, terrorism, and waging war against India.