A group known as the Deccan Mujahedeen has claimed responsibility for the Mumbai massacre that killed more than 100 people but terrorism experts say a more sophisticated organization was likely involved.

There are also reports that some of the attackers could be British citizens with links to Pakistan or Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan territory.

Breaking down the name of the group claiming responsibility, "Deccan" refers to the Deccan Plateau -- a vast terrain that stretches over much of southern India.

"Mujahedeen" is the plural form of a Muslim participating in a jihad.

But the director of the London-based Asia-Pacific Foundation, a think tank that focuses on security issues, said the name is meaningless.

"The terrorists are very good at the propaganda," M.J. Gohel told CTV Newsnet from London.

"They've got everyone focusing in on the name. Where al Qaeda and global jihadi groups are concerned the name is irrelevant."

Gohel said militant groups change their names frequently.

"The Deccan Mujahedeen has never been heard of before, they could easily have called themselves the Toronto Mujahedeen or the London Mujahedeen or whatever," he said.

Terrorism expert John Thompson, from the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute, said major groups in the jihadist movement will change their names before an attack "like you might change your socks."

He said the attacks are most likely linked to the Indian Mujahedeen, an Islamist terror group said to have the resources to carry out the ambitious plan.

In a chilling email sent to media in September, the Indian Mujahedeen said Mumbai was its next target.

Still, Gohel said even the Indian Mujahedeen name is relatively new, having only been around for about one year.

"The reality is that these groups are probably old, established groups -- such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, or the Jaish-e-Mohammed, or the Harkat-ul Mujahideen -- which have operated in India before and launched attacks such as on the Indian Parliament and attacks in Mumbai previously," he said.

The groups Gohel cited are made up of Pakistani militants and have links to al Qaeda.

Foreign affairs expert Eric Margolis said the attacks were most likely related to tensions spawning from the brutal conflict in Kashmir between Muslims and Hindus.

"It's most likely an Islamist group that is trying to punish India over the struggle in Kashmir where Kashmiri Muslims are trying to gain independence from Indian rule," Margolis told CTV Newsnet.

Margolis said many of the extremist attacks on India in the past have been carried out by Kashmiri groups.

"It's interesting that foreigners were attacked, which indicates that this group may not only be seeking to punish India but also to punish U.S. and Britain over (the war in) Afghanistan," he said.

According to The Associated Press, the British government is investigating whether some of the attackers were British citizens. A British security official confirmed the probe on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a U.S. team of FBI agents has been ordered to fly to India to investigate the deaths of four Americans killed in the attacks.

Both Thompson and Gohel said the group likely responsible for the attacks operate within sanctuary areas inside Pakistan, beyond the reach of the Indian government.

"For this operation, that's probably where the money and the arms came from and the actual attackers were mostly recruited from among extremists inside India," said Thompson.

Margolis said the attacks raise his concern about the growing turmoil in the region between a nuclear-armed India and a nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Thompson agreed, saying Pakistan's inability to control its own region is becoming a major problem.

"I hope this is another impetus to the Pakistani government to get control over its own territory," he said.

All of the experts said al Qaeda should not be ruled out when looking at groups who could have been involved.

India has been gripped by a number of devastating attacks this year.

Indian terror attacks in 2008:

• Oct. 30: Bombs kill 64 in Assam
• Sept. 30: Blasts in western India kill seven
• Sept. 27: Bomb kills one in New Delhi
• Sept. 13: five bombs kill 18 in New Delhi
• July 26: Twenty-some bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad
• May 13: 68 people killed in bombings throughout Jaipur's markets

Mumbai has been attacked six times since 1993. The last major attack, in 2006, killed 200 on the city's rail transit.