Obama telephones Rice, Ronen Sen on Mumbai attack

New York/Washington, Nov 27 (IANS)US president-elect Barack Obama has telephoned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen for an update on the nature of the Mumbai terror attacks that have claimed over 100 lives, his office said.

Obama, who strongly condemned the terror strikes, telephoned Rice late Wednesday night and Sen earlier Thursday, saying his thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic situation.

Obama, according to his office, told Sen there was only one president at a time but he was monitoring the situation and has was in communication with Rice.

Earlier, in a statement Obama strongly condemned terrorist attacks and said the US must strengthen its partnerships with India and other nations to root out and destroy terrorist networks.

'President-elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India,' said his chief national security spokesperson Brooke Anderson.

'These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism,' he said.

'The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks.

'We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks,' Anderson added.