Azam Amir Kasab was the only terrorist to be captured alive from the group that ran havoc through Mumbai. He revealed that he had orders to keep killing until he died.

That was never to pass though, as he was captured at the end of the 62-huor siege of the city. He revealed to investigators details about the chilling, coordinated attack he was a part of.

The group, numbering about 15 people, had planned to kill 5000 people and raze the landmark Taj Mahal hotel. In the end they managed to kill 200, and badly damage the Taj Mahal hotel and the nearby Trident-Oberoi hotel.

Kasab, who is 21, was trained for months before the attack, in the use of military weapons and explosives, as well as close quarters combat along with the other attackers, whose ages were between 18 and 28

A witness at the scene told police that the attackers were highly disciplined and did not waste bullets. Kasab confirmed this, telling that they were instructed to conserve ammunition to continue the killing spree for as long as possible.

"I have done right … I have no regrets," he reportedly told interrogators.

Most of the suicide squad spoke Punjabi, said Kasab. They were issued false identities and did not interact with each other more than was necessary.

The two attacks at the popular tourist hangout Leopold Café and the CST station were likely diversions to cover the attack on the two main targets, the two luxury hotels.

Kasab was caught on camera entering the CST railway terminal armed with an assault rifle where he and a ‘colleague’ fired indiscriminately. Kasab and accomplice Abu Dera Ismail Khan shot and killed three of Mumbai’s top policemen, including Hemant Karkare, anti-terrorism chief.

Kasab was captured at Girgaum Chowpatty Naka in Mumbai while attempting to escape in a stolen car.

Police believe the Mumbai terrorists were associated to terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has ties to ISI, Pakistan’s top intelligence agency.

Kasab told investigators that the terrorists were planning to destroy the 110-year-old Taj Mahal hotel, much like they did with the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad earlier this year. Reports also rumored the Mumbai stock exchange as a target.

J.K. Dutt, director-general of the National Security Group – India’s elite antiterrorist commandos – called the terrorists formidable fighters.

"These terrorists were well trained, which was not expected," he said. "They also had very good knowledge of tactics, which we have seen for the first time over here." He went on to say that the terrorists were “very familiar with the hotel set-up.”

Investigators say planning for the attack took more than a year. Associates of the terrorists are believed to have performed detailed reconnaissance four months ago. The mission included covert ship and speedboat acquisition, and careful study of the tides, to allow some of the attackers to enter Mumbai from the sea by night.

Kasab was one of four terrorists who entered Mumbai with false identities, posing as foreign students, and spent time memorizing their targets beforehand.

The public is outraged that such a small group of terrorists could lock down the city for almost three days. As a result Home Minster Shivraj Patel, the politician responsible for counter-terrorism, resigned yesterday. He did so under allegations that he did nothing about recent warnings about Mumbai being vulnerable to an attack from the sea.