THE 2008 MUMBAI KILLER FINALLY EXECUTED IN INDIA

India on Wednesday executed Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the last surviving gunman from the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, a government official said.

Kasab, a Pakistani, was hanged at Yerwada Jail in Pune, a city southeast of Mumbai, said K.S. Dhatwalia, a spokesman for the Indian home ministry.

The execution took place after Kasab's last attempt to

avoid the death penalty, a clemency petition, was rejected earlier this month by President Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Kasab was one of 10 heavily armed men who in November 2008 attacked landmarks around Mumbai, including high-end hotels, the city's historic Victoria Terminus train station and the Jewish cultural center Chabad House.

He was photographed holding an assault weapon during the three days of violence, which left more than 160 people dead. Indian forces killed the nine other suspects.

A Mumbai court sentenced Kasab to death in 2010 after he was convicted of murder, conspiracy and waging war on India.

He pursued the appeals process through the Indian court system, but the Supreme Court in August upheld his conviction and death sentence.

India blamed the siege on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistani-based terror group allied with al Qaeda.

Indian authorities said Kasab was trained by the organization, which was banned in Pakistan in 2002 after an attack on the Indian parliament. The group has denied responsibility.

The Mumbai attacks destabilized peace talks between the Indian and Pakistani governments, which remain bitterly opposed over issues such as the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Since then, the two nuclear-armed nations have resumed the high-level meetings and relations have improved.