India, US should jointly fight terror: US naval commander

Terming the Mumbai terror attack as "unfortunate", a top US naval officer on Wednesday, called for joint efforts of both countries to defeat the "common enemy".

"Terrorism is a phenomenon worldwide. It does not just affect one culture or one people. It is a common enemy and we all have to work together to defeat that enemy," commander Ryan C Tillotson, captain of the US Navy's guided missile destroyer 'USS The Sullivans DDG 68', said here.

Speaking to mediapersons on board the ship, Tillotson said: "partnerships must be formed by your navy and our navy, your nation and our nation" to fight the menace.

"The November 26 terror strike on Mumbai was unfortunate. I had been to Mumbai. It is not the question of attack on one hotel. The impact is not restricted to one hotel or one community alone," he said.

Asked about the Al-Qaeda attempt on the Sullivans while in port at Aden on January 2000, he said: "we understand that the Sullivans was the first ship targetted, but the USS Cole was successfully targeted at Yemen the same year. We were fortunate but tragedy struck Cole."

The ship, which had arrived from Singapore on February 16 is berthed off the Kochi coast and will be leaving for the next port after a four-day halt here.