The sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks of November 2008 has requested legal representation to appeal against his death penalty.

Over 170peopledied when militants including Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab attacked various targets.

His request to appeal against his conviction and sentence is under consideration and a new lawyer will be appointed within days, officials say.

Kasab was sentenced last month after he was found guilty of mass murder.

He was also convicted of waging war against India. The Bombay High Court has yet to confirm the death sentence.

Ten gunmen attacked Mumbai on 26

November 2008 killing 166 people. All of them except Kasab were killed.

Kasab - a Pakistani national - has now written a one-page letter in Urdu requesting the state government to appoint a lawyer to act on his behalf.

The letter says he is not satisfied with the verdict and sentence and needs a lawyer to explain it in detail to him, officials say.

"We received the letter and have already forwarded it and presented his case. He wants to voice his grievances about some points which he thinks were not considered by the court,” said KK Sonawane, from the Legal Aid Panel of the Bombay High Court.

Kasab also argued in the letter that he has no relatives in India who will take up his case, so he needs free legal aid.