80 Dead - Including Top Police - Over 900 in Hospital - British Held Hostage - Different Groups Claim Responsibility
Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India's affluent, financial capitol fell under siege; attackers struck in different ways in various locations around the city, leaving 80 dead, hundreds wounded and taking hostages from amongst the elite expatriots and British visitors living in the most elegant hotels.
Claims say attackers emerged from the sea - commando style, other reports blame Hindu extremists and jihadi terrorists have also been blamed.
Nothing has been confirmed as yet. Last month, 10 arrests unearthed what appeared to be a possible Hindu extremist terror network, with ties to the BJP. But the security agencies and analysts insist the blame must be put on the jihadi groups for all the recent terror attacks.
Attacks came against Mumbai's most high-profile targets; hyper-busy CST rail terminus; the historical landmark, Taj Hotel at the Gateway by the sea and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard. In addition to the 80 left dead, close to 1,000 more have been reported as injured and sent to hospitals, according to reports there.
Mumbai's top police officials were amongst those who were killed. Reports say the chief of anti-terror squad, Hemant Karkare was amongst those targeted, along with police commissioner Ashok Kamte (east), who was gunned down while outside the Metro; and well-known encounter specialist, Vjah Salaskar was also killed.
Attackers appear to be after international attention by focusing on British and other foreigners whom they have taken as hostages. Harish Manwani, chairman of Hindustan Unilever and the company's CEO, Nitin Paranjpe were among guests trapped at teh Oberoi Hotel located in the posh area of Mumbai. All internal members of the board of this multinational company have been reported held hostage in the Oberoi.
Simultaneous bomb blasts on Wednesday — similar to previous radical Islamist attacks — immediately led most observers to suspect the jihadis once again. For years, India blamed Pakistan's intelligence services for terror attacks; then the usual suspects became the Harkat ul Jihad Islamia (based in Bangladesh) and Students Islamic Movement of India, a group that has been banned. This summer, a new group emerged, Indian Mujahideen, claiming responsibility via e-mail for several attacks and stressing that their members and grievances were homegrown. A group called Deccan Mujahideen, previously unknown, has also sent an e-mail claiming responsibility for Wednesday's attacks. That claim cannot yet be confirmed.
Well after midnight, sources said two of the attackers were shot and wounded at Girgaum in south Mumbai. The two were driving in a silver-coloured Skoda car they had commandeered. Earlier, these men had sprayed bullets from a police Bolero, outside the Metro Adlabs multiplex.
The attacks occurred at the busiest places. Besides hotels and hospitals, terrorists struck at railway stations, Crawford Market, Wadi Bunder and on the Western Express Highway near the airport. Several of these places are within a one-km radius of the commissioner of police's office. "This is definitely a terrorist strike. Seven places have bee attacked with automatic weapons and grenades. Terrorists are still holed up in three locations Taj and Oberoi hotels and GT Hospital. Encounters are on at all three places," said Maharashtra DGP A N Roy.
St George's Hospital and G T Hospital were said to have received 75 bodies and more than 250 injured people, additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev said. Bombay Hospital got two bodies and 30 injured people were admitted there; Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle, got three dismembered bodies.
Three of the deaths occurred inside the Taj and one G T Hospital attendant died in a shootout inside the hospital. There were reports of people cowering under tables and chairs at both the Taj as well as G T Hospital.
Metro Junction resident Manoj Goel said: "My brother, Manish, died in the firing at Colaba's Hamaal Galli."
Police fired back at the men, who were dressed in all black and with backpacks and SRPF. Crime Branch, ATS and teams of military commandos were summoned to the spot. Train services at CST were suspended and all roads leading to and from south Mumbai were blockaded.
The Army and Navy in Mumbai were put on alert. 65 Army commandos and 200 NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.
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Differing opinions over who is behind this attack include some media reports attributing it to Lashkar-e-Taiba. Other unconfirmed reports claim some of the attackers came in by sea. A boat laden with explosives was recovered later at night near Gateway of India.
One unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen, sent an email out to news organizations saying they were behind the operation. Two attackers are reported to be in the Oberoi Hotel with hostages.
As the debate over terror continues, various parties have been trading blame. The BJP has accused the Congress of cooking up charges against the arrested Hindu right-wingers, while the Congress has been accusing the BJP of playing a double-game of pointing fingers at the Congress while lending a hand to Hindu-fundamentalist terrorists. Mumbai has been a focus of the tension between the parties, as several of the so-called "Hindu terror" arrests have taken place in or near the city. Perhaps the size and scale of this most recent attack will force the country's political leaders to finally push through a long-shelved proposal to co-ordinate intelligence on terror incidents between the states and prevent a repeat of Wednesday's bloody spectacle.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh cut short his Kerala visit and was returning to Mumbai. He described the situation in Mumbai as "very serious".
Deshmukh promised "stringent action" against the assailants but the mood across Mumbai was not so optimistic.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 November 2008 )
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