The choice of India for such an assault could reflect the fact that increased security has made Western countries more difficult to hit, while India's increasingly close alliance with the U.S. makes it a more desirable target, Gohel said.
The attackers reportedly inquired specifically about the whereabouts of British and American citizens.
"That is distinctive, in that in the past the Indians have been the targets of the attacks," Ganguly said. "This adds a transnational dimension to the attacks."
Besides launching attacks in Pakistan, a number of Pakistan-based extremist groups with connections to Al Qaeda, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been active in India. U.S. intelligence officials have said that in many cases militants work with Pakistani intelligence agents who share a common animosity toward India.
A U.S. counter-terrorism official agreed with experts that it was too early to rule out any group, especially since many have worked together -- and often with groups connected to Al Qaeda. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the attack.
"Given the choice of targets, the coordinated nature of the assaults, one might think it is Islamic extremists. It is a fair theory. But at this point, it is just that -- a theory," said the U.S. official. "But there have been a range of groups that have conducted attacks there, some of them very sophisticated."
Al Qaeda has urged its followers to launch attacks in India in recent years, especially as the government established closer ties with the United States. And Washington has accused some members of Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, of playing a role in this year's attack on the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, where India is increasingly active.
The State Department report, the product of intelligence from across the U.S. government, also said that smaller groups of independent militants and crime groups continue to engage in violence, in part because of overburdened law enforcement and legal systems.
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