The terrorists also for the first time used cars for planting bombs with LPG cylinder in one of them.

'The informer network of the Gujarat police did help make some arrests but the rest all is still dependent on the co-operation of the police of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to nab the accused who might be hiding in these states,' the official said.

Learning a hard lesson from the Ahmedabad serial blasts and a failed attempt by the terrorists to plant bombs in Surat, the Gujarat government has now planned a marine commando force.

The state government also increased the number of personnel in its Special Operations Group (SOG), a highly trained undercover force for counter terrorist operations, but the unit is still awaiting the modern weaponry promised to it.

Ironically, even after the serial blasts in Ahmedabad and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Gujarat government is still yet to fill up all the vacancies in its anti-terror and intelligence units.

In the SOG units, there are as many as 34 personnel less than the sanctioned strength of 78.

The SOG had played a key role along with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch and the Anti Terrorist Squad in nabbing many of the key accused of the serial blasts.

'After the Mumbai terror attacks most of the state's borders and the costal regions are now under better surveillance than ever before,' commented an SOG official.