NSG commandos open fire at Nariman House

MUMBAI: NSG commandos open fire from a chopper at Nariman house, where two to three terrorists are believed to be holed up. (
Watch )

A witness said security forces fired into the building, apparently to provide cover, as commandos rappeled down a rope from the helicopter.

NSG snipers at the site of a besieged Jewish center in Mumbai have opened fire.

Sharpshooters in buildings opposite the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch began shooting early Friday as a helicopter circled overhead.

Militants were believed to be holed up inside the building - possibly with hostages.

Earlier, three fresh explosions rocked Nariman House early on Friday as security forces battled hard through the night to end the siege of Taj and Trident luxury hotels by heavily-armed terrorists as the death toll in the audacious strikes in ten places across the city climbed to 127. ( Watch )

As NSG commandos closed in on Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex in Colaba in south Mumbai, for a final assault, two explosions within a span of ten to 15 minutes slowed down their operation. A third explosion was heard at 4.47 am.

"The operation to clean up the Nariman House is still going on," Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt told reporters adding "it is just a matter of time and it will end soon".

Dutt said the operations at Hotel Taj was by and large over with just one injured terrorist still holed-up in the building. "He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," he said.

Indische Armee jagt Terroristen in Luxushotel

Mindestens 125 Menschen sind tot, mehr als 300 verletzt - und das Terrordrama von Mumbai ist noch nicht zu Ende. Die indische Armee hat die Situation im Taj Mahal Hotel offenbar unter Kontrolle. Im Oberoi Hotel befreiten Spezialeinheiten am frühen Morgen 39 Geiseln.

Mumbai - Vor mehr als 24 Stunden haben Terroristen ihren Angriff auf die indische Finanzmetropole Mumbai begonnen - und noch immer ist das blutige Drama nicht zu Ende. An mindestens drei Tatorten kämpften Spezialkräfte in den vergangenen Stunden um das Leben Dutzender Geiseln, die sich in der Hand bewaffneter Extremisten befanden. Von einem Schauplatz der Gewalt - dem Taj Mahal Hotel - gab es am späten Abend (Ortszeit) Meldungen, die auf eine Entschärfung der Situation hindeuteten. Am Oberoi Trident Hotel jedoch dauerten die Kämpfe länger an.

Nach Polizeiangaben befreiten Spezialeinheiten 39 Menschen aus dem Oberoi. Unter den Befreiten seien auch mehrere Ausländer, sagte ein Sprecher am frühen Freitagmorgen (Ortszeit). Die Menschen hätten sich in ihren Zimmern versteckt gehalten, seit die Islamisten am Mittwochabend das Luxushotel angegriffen hatten. Dem Polizeisprecher zufolge dauerte der Einsatz in dem Hotel an, Spezialbeamten suchten Zimmer für Zimmer nach weiteren Menschen, die sich dort möglicherweise noch versteckt hielten. Noch sei unklar, ob sich auch noch Terroristen in dem Gebäude verschanzt hielten.

Auch im jüdischen Chabad-Zentrum war die Lage entgegen ersten anderslautenden Berichten weiter dramatisch.



Nach Behördenangaben ist der Einsatz im Luxushotel Taj Mahal so gut wie beendet. Fast alle Attentäter seien getötet worden, teilten die Behörden am Donnerstagabend mit. "Im Taj ist ein Terrorist, er wurde verletzt", sagte der Generaldirektor der Nationalen Sicherheitsgarde, J.K. Dutt, dem Fernsehsender NDTV: "Wir haben die Situation voll unter Kontrolle." Zunächst hatte es allerdings geheißen, alle Attentäter in dem Taj Mahal Hotel seien getötet worden.

Video abspielen...
Video abspielen...Großen Videoplayer öffnen...(Flash Player 8 erforderlich)

Foto: AP/Maharahstra Times
Video: SPIEGEL TV
Zuvor hatte es heftige Gefechte in dem teilweise brennenden Hotel gegeben. Der TV-Sender CNN-IBN meldete auf seiner Website, die ersten Spezialkräfte, die in das Gebäude eindrangen, seien auf heftigen Widerstand schwer bewaffneter Terroristen gestoßen. Die Sicherheitskräfte hätten in dem Gebäude Sprengstoff, Gewehre, Bargeld, gefälschte Papiere und Proviant gefunden. Nun werde das Hotel Zimmer für Zimmer und Etage für Etage gesichert.

Ein aus dem Taj Mahal Hotel Geretteter sagte im Fernsehen, die Einsatzkommandos hätten das Hotel unter Kontrolle. Sie hätten die Menschen aufgefordert, nicht zu den Leichen zu blicken. "Viele Kochlehrlinge wurden in der Küche niedergemetzelt", sagte der Mann.

FORUM
Forum
Anschläge - wie gefährlich ist die Situation in Indien?

Diskutieren Sie mit anderen SPIEGEL-ONLINE-Lesern!

613 Beiträge
Neuester: Gestern 23:26 Uhr
von Michael Schnarch
Auch andere Überlebende berichteten von schockierenden Erlebnissen. Eine australische Schauspielerin sagte, sie sei einem Angreifer nur deshalb entkommen, weil sie sich in einem Badezimmerschrank versteckt habe. Bei ihrer Flucht habe sie auf den Hoteltreppen viele Leichen liegen gesehen. Eine Spanierin berichtete, sie sei mit anderen hinter der Rezeption in Deckung gegangen. Weil sie ihre Schuhe auszog, habe sie dann barfuß durch das Blut der Opfer waten müssen.

Nachrichtenagenturen berichteten zunächst auch von neuen Entwicklungen in der Zentrale der jüdisch-orthodoxen Organisation Chabad Lubavitch. Dort hatten Terroristen sich ebenfalls mit Geiseln verschanzt. Zum Zeitpunkt des Überfalls hielten sich nach Angaben der Organisation acht Israelis in dem Haus auf, unter ihnen der Rabbiner Gavriel Noach Holtzberg mit seiner Frau.

Zur Großansicht
SPIEGEL ONLINE; Google Earth
Acht Personen seien aus der Gewalt der Extremisten befreit worden, sagte ein Vertreter der Regierung des Bundesstaats Maharashtra. CNN-IBN zeigte Bilder, auf denen offensichtlich Ausländer neben indischen Sicherheitskräften zu sehen waren. Die Situation sei ruhig aber unübersichtlich, sagte eine Reporterin.

Ein Sprecher des israelischen Außenministeriums dementierte bei CNN die Berichte über die Freilassung. Unter Berufung auf Einsatzkräfte vor Ort sagte der Sprecher, die Lage sei unverändert. Bei den Personen im Schutz der Soldaten habe es sich um Nachbarn des Zentrums gehandelt, die ihre Häuser verlassen mussten.

Kämpfe im Oberoi Hotel

Die Kämpfe im Hotel Oberoi Trident dauern an. Dort halten sich eine Reihe von Hotelgästen, darunter auch Ausländer, entweder versteckt, oder sie befinden sich in der Gewalt der Angreifer. Völlig unklar ist, wie viele Menschen im Hotel sind. Die Regierung sprach von bis zu 30 Geiseln, das Hotelmanagement vermutete noch bis zu 200 Gäste in dem Hotel. Der Ministerpräsident von Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, sagte dagegen, in keinem Hotel seien noch Geiseln in der Gewalt von Extremisten. Im Oberoi Trident verbliebene Gäste hätten sich in den Zimmern eingesperrt.

VON BOMBAY ZU MUMBAI
Mitte der neunziger Jahre wurde die Finanz- und Wirtschaftsmetropole Bombay in Mumbai umbenannt. Auch andere Städte erhielten offiziell einen anderen Namen: aus Madras wurde beispielsweise Chennai. Mit diesem Schritt wollte man letzte Erinnerungen an die Kolonialzeit tilgen. "Mumbai" gehört zum Wortschatz einer der indischen Hauptsprachen, dem Marathi, und bedeutet "Mutter Mumba", nach einer hinduistischen Göttin.
Immer wieder durchbrachen Schüsse und Explosionen die gespannte Ruhe um das Gebäude. Aus einem der oberen Stockwerke schlugen am Abend Flammen, das Feuer war nach Angaben eines CNN-Reporters nach einigen Stunden aber gelöscht.

Nach Einbruch der Dämmerung führten Soldaten mehrere Dutzend Gefangene aus dem Hotel Oberoi heraus. Einer der Befreiten sagte, er habe in dem Hotel viele Tote gesehen. Nach Angaben des Innenministeriums von Maharashtra wurden 45 Geiseln aus dem Oberoi befreit, 35 waren am Donnerstag noch in der Gewalt der Extremisten.

Mindestens 125 Tote, mehr als 300 Verletzte

Die Angriffe von rund zwei Dutzend Terroristen hatten in der Nacht zum Donnerstag begonnen. Sie schlugen kurz hintereinander an mindestens zehn Orten zu, so etwa in den beiden Luxushotels, einem beliebten Restaurant, in Krankenhäusern und einen Bahnhof. Bei der Anschlagsserie wurden nach jüngsten Polizeiangaben mindestens 125 Menschen getötet, mindestens 314 erlitten Verletzungen.

MEHR ÜBER...
Mumbai Indien Terrorismus Pakistan Islamismus
zu SPIEGEL WISSEN
Unter den Toten ist auch ein Deutscher. Bei ihm handelt es um den Münchner Medienunternehmer Ralph Burkei, wie sein Geschäftspartner Ralph Piller mitteilte. Er habe versucht, sich aus dem Taj Mahal zu retten und sei dabei zu Tode gestürzt. Außenminister Frank Walter Steinmeier hält es für möglich, dass weitere Deutsche ums Leben gekommen sind. Nach offiziellen Angaben und Medienberichten sind unter den Opfern außerdem ein Italiener, ein Brite, ein Japaner und ein Australier. Im Taj Mahal wohnte auch eine europäische Parlamentariergruppe, die sich retten konnte.

INTERAKTIVE GRAFIK
Interaktive Karte: Islamistischer Terror seit 2001
Eine bislang unbekannte Gruppe namens Deccan Mudschahidin bekannte sich in E-Mails an indische Medien zu der Anschlagsserie. In einem Anruf bei dem Sender India TV forderte ein vermeintlicher Terrorist namens Imran Babar die Regierung zur Verhandlung über Kaschmir auf. Im indischen Teil Kaschmirs kämpfen muslimische Extremisten für die Unabhängigkeit oder den Anschluss der Region an Pakistan. Andere Medien berichteten nicht über Forderungen. Auch die Regierung Maharashtras dementierte, dass die Terroristen Kontakt aufgenommen hätten, und schloss Verhandlungen aus. Einer der Angreifer im Hotel Oberoi forderte in einem Telefoninterview mit einem TV-Sender, alle in Indien inhaftierten islamistischen Kämpfer müssten freigelassen werden.

Der indische Premierminister Manmohan Singh geht davon aus, dass die Terroristen ihre Basis im Ausland haben. Er warnte die Nachbarländer der Atommacht, man werde es nicht dulden, wenn von ihrem Territorium aus Anschläge auf Indien verübt würden. "Wenn keine angemessenen Maßnahmen von ihnen ergriffen werden, wird das seinen Preis haben", betonte er in einer Ansprache an die Nation.

Pakistan forderte seinen Erzrivalen Indien daraufhin auf, sich mit Schuldzuweisungen in Richtung Islamabad zurückzuhalten. "Unsere Erfahrungen haben gezeigt, dass man mit voreiligen Schlussfolgerungen vorsichtig sein muss", sagte der pakistanische Außenminister Shah Mehmood Qureshi am Donnerstag.

War on Mumbai

By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
Published: November 27, 2008, 23:28

Mumbai: Indian commandos fought to end a multiple hostage crisis in Mumbai on Thursday, battling gunmen holding foreign guests in two luxury hotels after attacks across the city left at least 125 dead and 300 injured.

Bragged about as a city that never sleeps due to its joie de vivre, Mumbai was a sleepless city for all the wrong reasons from Wednesday night, as it came under the clutches of gun wielding men who fired indiscriminately at innocent people in some of the best known landmarks.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the militants had come from "outside the country" - a thinly-veiled reference to arch-rival Pakistan.

Pakistan's defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar said his country had played no role in the attacks.

Mumbai Police lost 14 policemen, including Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and its well-known marksman Vijay Salaskar in an encounter with the terrorists.

Police officials said troops were conducting floor-by-floor sweeps of the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi/Trident hotels, nearly 24 hours after terrorists armed with assault rifles and grenades stormed the buildings.

Gunfire continued to be heard from both hotels, where scores of guests remained trapped in their rooms.

A huge fire engulfed the top floors and the dome of the old Taj building in the early hours of yesterday until it was put out by the fire brigade. A state home ministry official told Gulf News that 400 people have been rescued from the Taj hotel alone.

The horrifying attacks that have yet to see an end have been countered by joint teams of the National Security Guard, Rapid Action Force, Army and Marine Commandos and Mumbai Police, the last bearing the brunt.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said, "Maharashtra will never forget their sacrifice."

Deshmukh said there could be 20-25 terrorists involved in the attacks. The terrorists are reported to have entered Mumbai by two boats after getting off a ship, MV Alpha, from Karachi. They arrived at the Machimar Colony, a colony of fishermen, in Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai, carrying heavy bags and backpacks.

When the locals asked who they were, they curtly said they were students.

A sack belonging to a terrorist which was found in the Taj hotel was was full of plastic explosives, eight to nine loaded AK-47 magazines, large amounts of ammunition, hand grenades, detonators, batteries, foreign currencies, fake credit cards and dried fruit. Stock market and educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

Do you know anyone in Mumbai who has been affected by this? Have you spoken to them? What has their experience been? Were you planning on going to Mumbai? Have these attacks changed your plans? Do you think this has changed people's perception of the reach of terrorism?

NSG, Army closing in on Nariman House; fresh explosions heard
Last Updated: 07:41 IST(28/11/2008)

Three fresh explosions rocked Nariman House in Mumbai on Friday morning as security forces battled hard through the night to end the siege of Taj and Trident luxury hotels by heavily-armed terrorists as the death toll in the audacious strikes in ten places across the city climbed to 127.

As NSG commandos closed in on Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex in Colaba in south Mumbai, for a final assault, two explosions within a span of ten to 15 minutes slowed down their operation. A third explosion was heard at 4.47 am.

"The operation to clean up the Nariman House is still going on," Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt told reporters adding "it is just a matter of time and it will end soon".

Dutt said the operations at Hotel Taj was by and large over with just one injured terrorist still holed-up in the building. "He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," he said.

Indian commandos enter Mumbai hotel: witness
First Published: 07:38 IST(28/11/2008)
Indian commandos entered the Oberoi-Trident hotel in Mumbai, where suspected Islamist militants have held people hostage, a Reuters witness said on Friday.

Mumbaiunderattack
President-elect Barack Obama speaks to Rice
President-elect Barack Obama has spoken with the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over phone to get an update on the situation in Mumbai.

* Taj cleared of terror threat, toll mounts to 127

Pool resources to fight terror: Pak
Strongly condemning the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Pak Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should pool in resources to fight terrorism, “our common enemy”, reports HT Correspondent.
Britain, Canada, Australia, US, France issue travel warnings
With the Mumbai terrorist attacks continuing for over 24 hours, the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and France were quick to warn their citizens to avoid travel to Mumbai.
Chinese premier condemns Mumbai terror attack
China is strongly opposed to any form of terrorism, Premier Wen Jibao today said in a message to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh while condemning the Mumbai terror attacks that claimed more than 100 lives.
Zardari speaks to Sonia, wants joint fight against terror
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told Congress President Sonia Gandhi that countries needed to work together to eliminate militancy and extremism in all forms and manifestations.
Bush calls PM, offers support and assistance
US President George W Bush spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over phone and offered "support and assistance" to restore order following the coordinated terror strikes in Mumbai.

* Commandos begin final assault at Oberoi

UK sending anti-terrorism experts to Mumbai: Brown
Britain is sending a police emergency team to India to help probe the coordinated terrorist attack that killed over 100 people in Mumbai, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
US condemns Mumbai attacks
The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and said Washington stands ready to support India.

* 7 foreigners among 15 taken hostage

Britain condemns Mumbai attacks
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband tonight "unreservedly" condemned the attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 60 people.

* 7 foreigners among 15 taken hostage

India’s worst terror attack; 125 killed; battle on to regain Mumbai hotels

MUMBAI - Indian commandos battled to regain control of buildings and hotels in the commercial capital of Mumbai on Thursday after attacks by armed militants blamed by the prime minister on a 'terrorist' group outside the country.

“The situation is still not under control and we are trying to flush out any more terrorists hiding inside the two hotels,” said Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra state which is home to Mumbai.

Police said 125 people, including 14 policemen, were killed and 327 were wounded when gunmen—at least some of whom arrived by sea—fanned out across Mumbai to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen, including two luxury hotels.

The death toll was only an estimate in a situation which brought the biggest chaos to the city since serial bombings in 1993 killed several hundred people in what was seen as revenge for the death of Muslims in Hindu-Muslim violence.

A reporter talks on her phone as smoke is seen coming from Taj Hotel in Mumbai November 27, 2008. Large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the top of the landmark Taj Hotel in Mumbai on Thursday and heavy firing could be heard, a Reuters witness said. Local TV reported that unknown assailants had earlier attacked the hotel, taking hostages, including Western tourists. –ReutersWith the drama still unfolding, the final death toll could be higher. Police said Indian commandos were fighting room to room battles to save people trapped inside two luxury hotels.

At least 10 Israeli nationals were also trapped in buildings or held hostage, an Israeli embassy official in New Delhi said. “It could be 10 to 20, it could be more,” said the official, who declined to be named. “I don’t think it is less than 10.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed militant groups based in India’s neighbours, usually meaning Pakistan, raising fears of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Police take up position at a blast site in Mumbai November 27, 2008. Gunmen killed at least 80 people in a series of attacks in India“It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country,” he said in a televised address.

“We will take the strongest possible measures to ensure that there is no repetition of such terrorist acts.”

Helicopters buzzed overhead and crowds cheered as the commandos, their faces blackened, moved into the Trident-Oberoi, where 20 to 30 people were thought to have been taken hostage and more than 100 others were trapped in their rooms.

Huge flames billowed from an upper floor.

Earlier, explosions rattled the nearby Taj Hotel, a 105-year-old city landmark on the waterfront, as the troops flushed out the last of the militants there. Fire and smoke plumed from an open window.

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai November 26, 2008. At least 10 people were killed and 26 wounded in a series of shootings around IndiaDipak Dutta told NDTV news after being rescued that he had been told by troops escorting him through the corridors not to look down at any of the bodies.

“A lot of chef trainees were massacred in the kitchen.”

At least six foreigners, including one Australian, a Briton, an Italian and a Japanese national were killed.

Commandos had gathered earlier outside a Jewish centre where a rabbi was thought to have been taken hostage, but later apparently decided to hold off from an assault.

A militant holed up at the centre phoned an Indian television channel to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages, but also to complain about abuses in Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars.

“Ask the government to talk to us and we will release the hostages,” the man, identified by the India TV channel as Imran, said, speaking in Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent.

“Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir? Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims. Are you aware how many of them have been killed in Kashmir this week?”
Walking through blood

Around two dozen militants in their early 20s, armed with automatic rifles and grenades and carrying backpacks full of ammunition, had fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday.

Indian army arrives outside the trident hotel for rescue operations , in Mumbai , India, 27 November 2008. At least 80 people were feared killed in a series of shootings and explosions by suspected terrorists late Wednesday in Mumbai, IndiaAt least some of them had come ashore in what police said was a rubber dinghy.

They commandeered a vehicle and sprayed passersby with bullets, fired indiscriminately in a train station, hospitals and a popular tourist cafe. They also attacked two of the city’s poshest hotels packed with tourists and business executives.

Those who survived told harrowing stories of close encounters. Australian actress Brooke Satchwell, who starred in the Neighbours television soap opera, said she narrowly escaped the gunmen by hiding in a hotel bathroom cupboard.

“There was people getting shot in the corridor. There was someone dead outside the bathroom,” the shaken actress told Australian television. “The next thing I knew I was running down the stairs and there were a couple of dead bodies across the stairs. It was chaos.”

A man gestures on the streets as gunshots are fired at the site of an attack in the Colaba area of Mumbai on November 27, 2008. Nearly 80 people were killed in a series of shootings and blasts across India“We threw ourselves down under the reception counter,” Esperanza Aguirre, head of Madrid’s regional government, said.

“I took off my shoes and we left being pushed along by the hotel staff,” she said. “I didn’t see any terrorists or injured people. I just saw the blood I had to walk through barefoot.”

Singh said New Delhi would “take up strongly” the use of neighbours’ territory to launch attacks on India.

“The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of terror by choosing high-profile targets.”

People belongings are seen at the shooting site at Chattrapati Shivaji Railway terminus in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. Nearly 80 people were killed in a series of shootings and blasts across IndiaThe use of heavily armed “fedayeen” or suicide attackers bears the hallmarks of Pakistan-based militant groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed, blamed for a 2001 attack on India’s parliament.

Both groups made their name fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, and were closely linked in the past to the Pakistani military’s Inter Services Intelligence agency, the ISI.

Lashkar-e-Taiba denied any role in the attacks, and said it had no links with any Indian group. Instead, the little-known Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility.

A policeman walks with an elderly man after shootings by unidentified assailants at a railway station in Mumbai November 26, 2008. At least 80 people have been killed in a series of attacks in Mumbai, police said. –Reuters“Release all the mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled,” said a militant inside the Oberoi, speaking to Indian television by telephone.

The attacks were expected to spook investors in one of Asia’s largest and fastest-growing economies.

Authorities closed stock, bond and foreign exchange markets, and the central bank said it would continue auctions to keep cash flowing through interbank lending markets, which seized up after the global financial crisis.

One of the first targets was the Cafe Leopold, a famous hangout popular with foreign tourists.

The attackers then appeared to target British, Americans and Israelis as they sought hostages in the hotels and elsewhere.

The attacks were another blow for the Congress party-led government ahead of a general election due by early 2009, with the party already under fire for failing to prevent a string of bomb attacks on Indian cities.

Police said they had shot seven gunmen and arrested nine suspects. They said 12 policemen were killed, including Hemant Karkare, the chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai.



Click here to view more pictures

Do you think the Indian intelligence services should be blamed for their failure to identify the risk behind the dastardly terror attack on Mumbai?

If you have any family members, friends or colleagues who have been caught unawares by the attacks in Mumbai or have any pictures and experiences to share, please write to news@khaleejtimes.com with your contact details.

Chakra Meditation Music - Sacral Chakra




Chakra Meditation Music - Solar Plexus Chakra




Chakra's meditation - Heart chakra




chakra's meditation - the third eye chakra



Natural Healing Bonus Meditation

MUMBAI - WESTERN visitors and Mumbai residents ducked under tables at luxury five-star hotels as staff members locked restaurant doors at the first rattle of gunfire and explosions in the lobby below.

Not far away, army commandos in battle-ready camouflage uniforms battled attackers in black shirts and jeans carrying shoulder bags filled with ammunition at Mumbai's main railway station, which was filled with commuters waiting to catch trains home.

VIDEO
Inside the Oberoi
(1:44)
Eyewitness accounts
The coordinated assaults targeted two of Mumbai's best-known hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Trident, with gunmen taking hostages and engaging in gunfights with anti-terrorist squads.

Here are some eye-witnesses accounts of the Wednesday night attacks in Mumbai:
... more
Australian actress describes Mumbai attacks terror
SYDNEY - AN Australian television actress Thursday described the terror and chaos in Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel as it was stormed by militant gunmen in a multi-pronged attack across the city.

Brooke Satchwell, a 28-year-old former star of the soap opera Neighbours, told Australia's Network Ten television that she had just returned to the luxury hotel after stepping outside for a cigarette when she heard gunshots.
... more
Walking the streets on Mumbai's night of fear
MUMBAI - AS the first explosion rattled the seafront homes of south Mumbai's Colaba district at about 10 pm, my first thought was it must be a firecracker left over from last month's raucous Diwali festival.

It was soon clear it was much, much more than that.
... more
EU lawmakers caught up in Mumbai attacks uninjured: parliament
BRUSSELS - EU lawmakers and officials visiting Mumbai were caught up in the coordinated attacks targetting luxury hotels in the Indian city, although none appear to have been injured, the European Parliament said on Thursday.

'In principle, everyone is doing fine at last word. We are quite relieved,' said parliament spokesman Jaume Duch, adding that most found refuge in the French consulate in the city.
... more
Twelve hours after the first shots were fired at about 10 pm at a busy Mumbai cafe, the terror attacks continued Thursday inside two of the city's best-known and most opulent hotels where terrorists still held hostages.

'We were at dinner when we heard shots fired. There was gunfire and explosions. We stayed on the floor, many were lying under tables, under furniture, and the hotel staff told us to be quiet,' said Cheryl Robinson, a British tourist who was trapped inside Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel with two friends. 'The hotel staff were stupendous. They locked the doors and warned us to sit tight.'

She said restaurants and rooms were flooded with water after a pipe burst in the chaos of the gunshots and blasts. 'We lay down in the water. We could hear the sound of people running outside. It was terrifying.'

Seven long hours later, a barefoot Ms Robinson shivered as she stood outside the burning but still majestic stone-columned hotel that belched out black smoke from shattered windows. Soldiers and firefighters helped her and several others to climb down ladders and escape the blazing edifice as the firing continued inside.

A clutch of weeping tourists from Spain, Italy and Britain, also barefoot, huddled together holding bottles of water and haversacks.

They waved away journalists eager for news.

At another Mumbai landmark, the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Nasim Inam's hands shook as he spoke of seeing commuters mowed down while walking to catch the late trains home.

Four young men carrying big guns and wearing black T-shirts and blue jeans rushed in, Inam said. 'They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground.'

Sobbing and shaking his head, he said the attackers were 25 years old at the most.

'They were so young. They were young boys,' said Mr Inam. 'I was standing behind. I was just behind. If they had turned around, it would have been me.' Just a few miles (kilometers) away, eyewitnesses said gunmen hijacked a police van then opened fire on crowds that had collected near two hospitals close to the police headquarters.

'We felt the ground shake and heard the explosions,' said Manish Tripathi, at a police cordon near one of the hospitals. 'We heard a car speed up behind us, it was a police van, but the men inside were firing at us.'

He said in seconds people around him were shot at. 'Men were screaming that they had lost their fingers. There was blood all over,' said Mr Tripathi who escaped unhurt. 'Some were shot in the leg, some on the shoulder or hand. I feel they are still screaming.' Inside the two Mumbai hotels and the railway station, green uniformed soldiers in helmets took over from the khaki-uniformed police who moved out to patrol the streets and warned residents to stay indoors.

The state government has ordered schools and colleges closed Thursday.

Opposite the multistory Oberoi hotel, a tense college student Preet Desai paced on a deserted promenade as dawn broke. He said a friend's father was inside the hotel at a business meeting when shots were fired.

'My friend is shattered. His dad is not answering his cell. What do we do?' said Desai. 'Do you know anyone in the hotel who can give us information, any information?' -- AP

Om Mani Peme Hung

Om Mani Peme Hung



The Arabic "AMIN is same as the latin "Amen" is the same as the indian root sanskrit word "Om" which was considered as the "word of god" the shabda-brahma" or "all encompassing word as it represented the hindu holy trinity A for brahma the creator, U for vishnu the preserver and M for Mahesh the destroyer. Pronounced together, Aum sounds like Om but "is different a bit in that the "m" is to be pronounced nasally without closing the lips as one would so when pronouncing

its the sound of compassion.

ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ

may you achieve the highest liberation swiftly.



Relax - Buddhist Meditation Music - Zen Garden - Kokin Gumi

Mumbai Terror Attack and After 26-27-28-11-2008

Indian special forces battle terrorists in bid to rescue Bombay hotel hostages
Suspected terrorists are seen in Mumbai

(Maharahstra Times/AP)

The armed men launched their attacks in brazen fashion, failing even to cover their faces
Image :8 of 8
Rhys Blakely and Jeremy Page, Bombay, and Philippe Naughton

Exclusive: how Britain's 'Curry King' escaped | Pakistan unity call after attacks | Attacks latest: hour by hour | Citizen journalists must stop using Twitter | England abandon one-day cricket series | Al-Qaeda attack had been expected | Video: carnage in Bombay | Flights from London to Bombay continue | Survivors' tales | Brits tell of terror | Leopold's Cafe | Tata targeted

Updated at 20.21 GMT (01.51 Bombay)

Indian commandos fought Islamic militants for control of two Bombay hotels tonight to save dozens of foreigners trapped or being held hostage inside. Guests and workers rescued from the hotels said that bodies were littering the corridors, suggesting that the final death toll from the al-Qaeda-style terror attacks could continue to climb.

It emerged this evening that Andreas Liveras, a British shipping magnate, was among the dead. The businessman, who featured on this year's Sunday Times Rich List, had earlier given an interview to the BBC saying he was trapped with a big group hiding in the basement of his hotel.
Related Links

* Terrorist attacks in Bombay: hour by hour so far

* Stop using Twitter, say the Indian authorities

* Pakistan condemns Bombay attacks

Multimedia

* Video: from the scene

As the country's Prime Minister blamed forces "outside the country" for last night's co-ordinated attacks, the Indian Navy boarded and searched a cargo ship recently arrived off Bombay from Pakistan.

Police said 119 people have been killed in the attacks, including at least six foreigners. The Foreign and Commonwealth office confirmed today that a British national was among them.

The gunmen slipped into the city on two small boats last night, mooring near the Gateway of India monument before fanning out across the southern part of India's financial capital. Carrying assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives, they hit targets including a hospital and a bar popular with backpackers and tourists.

They also stormed the city's two most famous luxury hotels, including the landmark Taj Mahal Palace that is a favourite watering spot for the elite of Bombay and Bollywood. Witnesses said that they tried to find British and American visitors to take hostage.

The latest death toll stands at 119 - with more than 300 injured, including seven Britons. Among the foreigners killed were an Australian, a Japanese and an Italian.

Mr Liveras, 73, the British victim, was in the Taj hotel’s restaurant when the attacks began.

“As soon as we sat at the table we heard the machine gun fire outside in the corridor," he said in an interview from his mobile phone shortly before he died.

"We hid ourselves under the table and then they switched all the lights off. But the machine guns kept going and they took us into the kitchen, and from there into a basement, before we came up into a salon where we are now.

"There must be more than 1,000 people here. There are residents and tourists and locals. We are not hiding, we are locked in here - nobody tells us anything, the doors are locked and we are inside. Hotel staff are helping us a lot, providing water and sandwiches - but nobody is eating really, people are frightened.

"At this moment it's very quiet. The last bomb exploded about 45 minutes ago and it shook the hotel up. Nobody comes in this room and nobody goes out and we don't really know.

"All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off. Everybody is just living on their nerves."

It is unknown exactly what happened next but within hours Mr Liveras had been pronounced dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the city's St George's hospital.
Related Links

* Terrorist attacks in Bombay: hour by hour so far

* Stop using Twitter, say the Indian authorities

* Pakistan condemns Bombay attacks

Multimedia

* Video: from the scene

Bombay’s police chief said earlier today that the Taj hotel had now been cleared of militants, but it was rocked by loud blasts and gunfire this afternoon as security forces moved through it.

Crowds cheered outside another luxury hotel, the Trident-Oberoi, as black-faced commandos moved in. Around 30 people were thought to have been taken hostage and at least 100 others were trapped in their rooms. Smoke poured from an open window of the hotel and gunshots rang out.

Survivors told harrowing stories of close encounters with the gunmen and described how they saw dead bodies piled up in the hotel. One man rescued from the Taj said that the hotel's trainee chefs had been massacred in the kitchen.

Brooke Satchwell, an Australian actress who starred in the television soap Neighbours, said she narrowly escaped the gunmen by hiding in a bathroom cupboard at the Taj, where she was staying for a film shoot.

"There were people getting shot in the corridor. There was someone dead outside the bathroom," the actress said. "The next thing I knew I was running down the stairs and there were a couple of dead bodies. It was chaos."

Commandos had also gathered outside a Jewish centre where a rabbi from the ultra-Orthodox Chavad-Lubavitch outreach group was being held hostage, but apparently decided against an assault.

A militant holed up at the centre phoned an Indian television channel to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages, but also to complain about abuses in Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars.

"Ask the government to talk to us and we will release the hostages," the man, identified by the India TV channel as Imran, said, speaking in Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent. "Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir?"

The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group, the Deccan Mujahedeen, which demanded the release of all Mujahideen, or Islamic holy warriors, in Indian jails. The co-ordinated attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, but there was no sign of any formal link with the terror network.

One militant inside the Oberoi-Trident, identifying himself only as Sahadullah, told an Indian television station by telephone: "Release all the mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled."

Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, said that the terrorists had "external linkages". "It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country," he said.

But Pakistan's leaders strongly condemned the attacks and the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is often accused of fomenting unrest in India, denied any involvement.

The Indian Navy boarded a cargo ship five kilometres off the Bombay coast. A Navy spokesman said that the MV Alpha had recently arrived in Bombay from the Pakistani city of Karachi.

Britain and the US led global condemnation of the attacks. Gordon Brown said that he had sent Mr Singh a message assuring that "the UK stands solidly with his government as they respond, and to offer all necessary help".

"These outrageous attacks in Mumbai will be met with a vigorous response," he said.

There was similar condemnation of the "horrific" attacks from the US State Department. President-elect Barack Obama said it showed the need for Washington to work with other nations to "root out and destroy terrorist networks".

A number of airlines cancelled flights to Bombay, among them Italy’s flag-carrier Alitalia and Germany’s Lufthansa.

But from the UK, flights operated as normal despite a Foreign Office statement advising Britons against travel to the city. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air India and Jet Airways were all still flying.

*Foreign Office phone line for concerned relatives: 020 7 0080000
Page 2 of 2
Previous Page

* Have your say

India has nothing against any western country. In fact, an ordinary Indian goes out of his way to make our guests feel welcome. The world will soon know where these terrorists came from. They are definitely not Indian.

Ashish Deodhar, Lancaster, UK

To Colin, Carmarthen, United Kingdom
3,000 people die every year on Britain's roads. Have you given up driving?
The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with India against terrorism.

Richard, London, UK

To all those people who object to the old name "Bombay", I would like to say, as one born and brought up in the city, that Bombay is the city in which all differences of religion and background were forgotten. That city still lives in ours hearts, even after it having been renamed.

Rajan Mehra, Bombay, India

Terrorism where ever and when ever it rears its ugly face cannot be allowed to succeed in the achieving its political aims through violence. I hope all countries who share democratic values whether they are muslim, European, African unite to defeat it.

Lucy Sanderson, Haywards Heath, UK

Have been too India a few times with work. Always felt safe especially in Mumbai/Bombay. I would go again

Paul Y, wigan,

This is an atack on capitalism and it's trappings by a well organised group. The fundamentalists appear to have sailed from Pakistan in their own ship to land at Mumbai. The scale of this assault is way beyond anything attempted before and seems to be turning their fight international if not global.

Colin, Carmarthen, United Kingdom

Being pulled down into the realms hatred, despair and the urge for vengeance is not the answer to terrorism. Showing each other the best of our nature is. How about doing something kind, wherever you live, to make life a bit better for a friend, neighbor or stranger. That's how we win! Jai Hindi

geoffrey , clearwater, usa

Im a Muslim...and Im so sad to seen what happen in India.

Mifta, Surabaya, Indonesia

Time for the expertise of the SAS to be brought in!

Paul, Bedford, uk

Thanks Mr Bush for making the world a safer place !

jayil, london, uk

I was very shattered on hearing this news. This kind of incidents have become common in india..the disturbing fact is that it is being carried out in the name of religion and on earlier instances not many muslim leaders have condemened this making people believe that terrorists have their support

Ram, cardiff, UK

Westerners are the usual targets in most countries. Remember Bali ? Istanbul ? Madrid? . Its wrong to single out one country. In fact Mumbai will be back on its feet soon and business will be as usual. The spirit is strong.

Bala, Boston, USA

Rec colin

Perhaps we should forgoe trips to america and britain as well given the atrocities committed by terrorists in those countries a few years back.

Don't be so foolish, and give the terrorists a chance to dictate to you where you can and can not go.!

Mr Chuds, bristol, UK

Terrorism is affecting almost every significant nation in the world now, but I hope that the Govt. of India takes some solid action this time, having missed the chance in 2003 after the parliament attack & send a strong message to those who have no respect for human lives - Brits,Americans or anyone

SAURABH, Singapore, Singapore

My question is being a British Citizen living in Delhi and a rare visitor to the Taj Mumbai for tea.

What the hell our Europan MP's were doing staying in the Taj hotel in the first place, this is a 5* hotel, one of the best in India...prices are $800 upwards for a basic room. A cup of tea is $20!

richard, Delhi, India

I hope that the terrorists are not reading news reports about their situation. If there are, then well done for telling them what may be about to happen.

There should be a complete news blackout on resultions to specific hostage situations until the security services say otherwise.

Marc, Antrim, N Ireland

I really don't think thats the major issue here Colin.

Hannah , London,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but should The Times not be referring to the city by it's correct name - 'Mumbai'?

Andrew Abbott, Lancaster, UK

Whilst what's happened is awful, it's worth remembering that the UK is on a higher terror alert than India.Living in London & using the tube everyday, I technically have a higher chance of being caught up in a terrorist attack here than when I go to S. India at the end of Dec. And I intend to go.

Claire Hodd, London, UK

I'll still be going back next February, and my friends will still, no doubt, be going at Xmas. At the moment though, I hope and pray for a quick end to this terrible situation in Mumbai, for all those affected by it and for calm in India's communities.

MrMobs, Nottingham, UK

Why is it only the Times insist calling this city 'Bombay'?

c.s.athauda, london,

"Is it just me or does what we can see of the "Indian security commando"' look more Caucasian than Indian? "
Have been watching the news all day and they're all Indian - part of the NSG.

Tanya, Mumbai,

My friends and I had tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel as backpackers a few years ago. The staff were wonderful. My sympathies to the families of those who have been killed, and I will be going back to India. Sorry Colin.

Judy, Soton,

The world should show their commitment by staying with INDIA which is a great country . As a citizen of India , i can tell with pride that , this is a country which wont let down by this cowardly acts . We should fight terrorism together , Thanks for the west for showing support for us .

rengith, Bangalore , India

Colin of Carmarthen, attacks happend in UK, USA and other western countries. Does that mean we stop going there too!! Show courage rather than getting scared by these idiot bunch calling "Holi War".

Bhavesh Patel, London, UK

A few days ago The Independent carried a story about false flag bombings which had infact been carried out by Indian Hindu terrorists. The existence of Hindu terrorism was said to have caused shock and outrage - mentioned even by the Prime Minister. Who knows who's behind what any more?

Dorothy, Birmingham Small Heath,

wonderful job being done by the defence personal and the media have been extremly well disiplined in what they are saying on air wonderful, our support is with u. Maru good job!

Uma, Pune, India

Is it just me or does what we can see of the "Indian security commando"' look more Caucasian than Indian?

Guy, London,

I agree with Luke Nicolaides, and would include Kenya and Bali. Many of these terrorists will probably try to get to Britain where our soft judges will grant them asylum, or cushy prison sentences. Britain is currently the toilet for the terrorists of the world.

kerry livermore, London, England

To: Luke.

These guys don't seem to care about prison or death.This attack is far deeper and more fundamental than that.
It appears total in it's attempt to wipe out everyone they deem enemies. That includes all westerners and western style interests. A suicide action for their beliefs.

Colin, Carmarthen, United Kingdom

Why are not 'moderate' Muslims (the religion of peace) totally outraged by the moral depravity of their co-religionists? Why are they not deeply offended by this humiliation of Islam?

Barry, Cambridge,

Colin's reaction is exactly the reaction the terrorists want. Life is full of dangerous situations and random events. You can spend your life avoiding exotic and 'troubled' locations and then choke to death on a peanut. Carry on visiting India people. Dont let a few idiots speak for a whole Country.

Phil Mann, Newcastle upon Tyne,

As a tactic, just how destabilising is this for the entire region?

Unbelievable.

Jez W, Leeds,

Well Im going off to backpack India in February come hell or high water. A few random attacks do not bother me in the least. India is a great destination.

Andrew Lewis, Aberystwyth, Wales

I agree with PB, and absolutely condemn the attacks, these will not only affect Muslims living in India but peace loving Muslims around the globe specially in the west.
I being one can confirm these detrimental affects..

Adeel, Essex, UK

The 2006 Mumbai train bombings, killing over 200 and injuring over 700, amongst countless other atrocities, surely flagged the Islamic militant issue in India. We should show solidarity rather than run from a problem which affects us every bit as it does India, and tourism is as good a way as any.

Kevin, London,

India is taking every effort to rescue each and every civilian inside the hotels, putting the NSG, the most elite force into action. Some of the brightest cops lost their lives in the operation. India expects the rest of the world to act with empathy and is grateful to every kind of such support.

Praveen Kumar, Chennai, India

Won't put me off doing business there. Long live democratic India!

John, Sandwich, Kent

Can't you read it as gunmen hunting for humans? All those shot dead are humans irrespective of nationality.

Manojkumar K, Liberton, Scotland

Colin of Camarthen's fear is justified, but terrorism happens in the UK, too and it's actually indiscriminate. The attackers might have singled out Westerners, but far more Indians died. That they have stated "Muslims living in India should not be troubled" is stupid - we all know where this leads.

PB, London, UK

Where is safe then Colin? There have been terrorist attacks in the USA, Egypt, Spain, Glasgow, London and even Exeter! At least any terrorists the Indians capture can look forward to prison that is actually tough punishement, rather than some 5 star hotel with Sky TV.

Luke Nicolaides, London, UK

Gunmen hunting for Brits and Americans! India is no longer a destination. Both backpackers and middle-England retirees will be thoroughly warned off their adventure holidays with this going on.

Colin, Carmarthen, United Kingdom

* Read all 42 comments

o Have your say

Have your say



300 characters left

* Name

* Email

* Town

Country

* Required

Remember me

* Terms and conditions

* Print
* Email
* Post to del.icio.us
* Post to Fark
* Post to Yahoo!
* Post to Digg

Also in Asia News

* Britons told to stay indoors as doubt hangs over cricket tour
* A history of appalling violence and astonishing growth

Also in World News

Explore Asia News

* China News

Times Recommends

* IN DEPTH: 'They were very young, like boys really'
* Pirate 'mothership' was only a fishing boat
* Japan goes crazy for insulting acronyms

Bombay attacks
Rescue workers carry the injured at the site of attack in the Colaba area of Mumbai

Horror in India as terrorists commit string of attacks and take hostages
Slide Show
Thailand unrest
A stranded foreign passenger walks past an anti-government demonstration banners apologising for the inconvenience

Anti-government protesters storm Bangkok airport
Slide Show
Pictures of the Day
The sun in the winter sky on the Hirzel in central Switzerland

A selection of the best images from around the world
Slide Show
Times Archive: Gandhi's Salt March
Mr Gandhi and some of his followers on their way to the shore at Dandi to break the salt laws.
Nationalist leader's ultimatum
The Dalai Lama flees Tibet
Averaging 12 miles a day through the Himalyas, the Dalai Lama is shown journeying through the Karpo Pass.
Escape over the Himalayas
The Korean War
Korean War
Communists move into South Korea

* Explore Times Archive: Politics and Civil Rights

Tibet dilemma
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrives to address a press conference in Dharmsala, India

How to deal with China topped agenda at unique conference
Slide Show
Bhutanese King
Bhutan’s fifth king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck succeeding from his father Jigme Singye Wangchuk during his coronation ceremony

World's youngest democracy, hands Raven Crown to 28-year-old King
Slide Show

Comment Central
A voter casts his ballot as absentee voting gets underway in the US Presidential election
The morning after: Why Republicans won't matter

* Daniel Finkelstein's blog

MOST READ
MOST COMMENTED
MOST CURIOUS
Most Read
Skip Most Read

Today

* The 50 worst famous football fans
* Intelligence chiefs were expecting Al-Qaeda...
* India searches Pakistani boat after night of...
* Bombay attacks: 'They were very young, like...

MOST COMMENTED
Skip Editor's Pick

Today

* Nicole Kidman drifts about like a lost...
* After 17 months of unimaginable cruelty,...
* John Sergeant pulls out of Strictly Come...

MOST CURIOUS
Skip Most Curious

Today

* Edith Kent, wartime welder and the first...

* National park will be on London’s...

* Rome carriage horses to get 'black boxes'...

* Gallery’s masterpiece is a work of...

Focus Zone
Need to Know
Need to Know


Jobs
Property
Travel
Cars
Skip Cars of the Week

Saab 9-3

05/2005
£13,500

Bentley Continental

08/2008
£109,950

Mini Cooper

2006
£10,750

Car insurance

Great car insurance deals online


* Search for more cars and bikes

Jobs
Skip Jobs of the Week
Director

£100k
The National Skills Academy for Social Care
London
Head of International Programme

£49,229 - £62,035 pro rata
Charity Commission
London/Liverpool/Taunton
Executive Assistant to Head of Compliance and Support

£21,777 to £26,207
Charity Commission
London
Director Roles

Six Figure
Rolls Royce
Midlands/Europe

* Search more Jobs

Properties
Great Dubai Investment Opportunities


From £89,950
Rushmore Condo's New Luxury Condo's In Manhattan

Great Investment, River Views

Luxury Antiguan Beachfront House 90ft Moorings Plus 40ft Sunseeker

$3.5 million
Also avaliable for rent
Upper Meadow Gerrards Cross Luxury houses and Apts

Special Offers now available

* Search for more properties

Holidays
Skip Travel of the Week

Continental Airlines Vacation

New Year in the USA!
.

Funway Holidays Int Inc

Cruise the Islands of Hawaii - Pride of America


Advertise your holiday property online

List your property with two leading travel websites


Travel insurance

Great travel insurance deals online


* Search for more holidays

Place your advert now

Search Ad Reference:

Where am I?
Home

* NewsWorld NewsAsia News

* Contact us
* Back to top

Operations to flush out the terrorist are on at the Oberoii 2

Fight moves to Oberoi hotel, Nariman House

ibnlive.com

TimePublished on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 00:59, Updated on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 01:46 in Nation section

TagsTags: Mumbai Blast, Mumbai Terror Attack
E-mail this report | Print this report

GOING IN: Commandos outside Nariman Bhavan, where militants are holed up in Mumbai.

GOING IN: Commandos outside Nariman Bhavan, where militants are holed up in Mumbai.


* 3 terror suspects, including a Pakistani, arrested from the Taj hotel

* FBI sending unit from LA to Mumbai because of potential American hostages

* NSG announces all-clear at Taj Hotel, says all terrorists killed

* A cell phone, suspected to be one of the terrorists, with a foreign SIM card found outside Taj

o

Light a candle, take a pledge against terror
o

Should Shivraj Patil quit? View chat
o

Pay tribute to slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare
o

Your say: What can we do to make India safe?
o

News on mobile
o

Helpline: Oberoi: 011-23890606, Taj: 022-66574322
* The National Security Guard and marine commandos are into the final assault against terrorists at the Oberoi hotel

* The assault team has sanitised parts of the Oberoi Trident

* Ten hostages walked out of Oberoi. But over 30, including five foreigners are still trapped inside

* Gunbattle is also on inside Taj hotel and a huge explosion has been heard

* At the third location, Nariman House, commandos are preparing to launch an assault

Mumbai: The siege at the Taj Intercontinental Hotel is over but commandos are still fighting terrorists in Hotel Trident-Oberoi and Nariman House, said a senior security official on Thursday night.

Mumbai: The siege at the Taj Intercontinental Hotel is over but commandos are still fighting terrorists in Hotel Trident-Oberoi and Nariman House, said a senior security official on Thursday night.

At last three terrorists were killed at the Taj and one is still holding out, new agencies reported. "There is one terrorist in the Taj (hotel). He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," said J K Dutt, Director General of the elite National Security Guards commandos.

"There is one terrorist in the Taj (hotel). He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," Dutt said.

The injured terrorist has not yet been captured but "we will be able to do so soon".

NARIMAN HOUSE

At least two or three terrorists are holed up in Nariman Bhawan (House), said Dutt. Reports coming in say four Israelis were among the people evacuated from Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex.

Dutt said the entire operation has slowed down as the commandos are taking precaution for the safety of the holed-up people in all the locations.

"Our first objective has been to ensure safety of the hostages and we have been able to get 145 rescued from the Taj. But after that, the going has been a little slow because each room will have to be sanitised and each room is checked," he said.

TRIDENT-OBEROI HOTEL

Huge flames billowed from an upper floor of the Oberoi hotel, where about 200 people are been trapped, after terrorists exploded grenades and set the roof on fire.

Dutt said two terrorists are holed up in the eighth floor of the Oberoi but the Trident section of the hotel has been cleared.

"As far as Trident is concerned, we have been able to completely clean up and we do not have any report of any terrorist being holed up over there. As far as Oberoi is concerned, yes, we have engaged two terrorists on the eight floor," he said.

Reuters reports helicopters buzzed overhead and crowds cheered as the commandos, their faces blackened, moved into the Trident-Oberoi.

The NSG's fight against terrorists is "almost coming to an end", said Mumbai’s police chief Hassan Gafoor.

Around two dozen militants in their early 20s, armed with automatic rifles and grenades and carrying backpacks full of ammunition, had fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday.

(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)

One Target flushed clean as per NSG

* NSG announces all-clear at Taj Hotel, says all terrorists killed

* A cell phone, suspected to be one of the terrorists, with a foreign SIM card found outside Taj

* The National Security Guard and marine commandos are into the final assault against terrorists at the Oberoi hotel

* The assault team has sanitised parts of the Oberoi Trident

* Ten hostages walked out of Oberoi. But over 30, including five foreigners are still trapped inside

o

Light a candle, take a pledge against terror
o

Should Shivraj Patil quit? View chat
o

Pay tribute to slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare
o

Your say: What can we do to make India safe?
o

News on mobile
o

Helpline: Oberoi: 011-23890606, Taj: 022-66574322

* Gunbattle is also on inside Taj hotel and a huge explosion has been heard

* At the third location, Nariman House, commandos are preparing to launch an assault

DEVELOPING: AT THE TAJ

The National Security Guard has declared an all-clear at the Taj Mahal hotel where a fierce gunbattle was on between the forces and terrorists for the past 20 hours.

The NSG says all terrorists at Taj have been killed that it will comb the premises very carefully.

Earlier, a huge explosion was heard from inside the hotel at around 2000 hrs.

MARCOS, the first team to enter the hotels, encountered stiff resistance from the terrorists who were heavily armed and well entrenched inside.

Meanwhile, fire again flared up at the hotel and Tower Hotel, with huge flames leaping up from the roof of the heritage old wing of the building.

This was the third fire at the hotel after armed terrorists stormed the hotel on Wednesday night.

A fire that broke out adjacent to the domed roof Wednesday night was doused after hours of effort by fire brigade personnel. Another fire broke out in one of the rooms on Thursday afternoon and that too was put out.

One commando was killed two others injured in the operation at Taj in which one rucksack full of plastic explosives, eight–nine loaded AK–47 magazines, large amounts of ammunition, hand grenades, detonators, batteries, wrist watches for IEDs, foreign currencies, fake credit cards, dry fruits and cash carried by the terrorists were recovered.

Major General RK Hooda General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat, who is supervising the operations at the Taj Hotel, said, "NSG is here. They are carrying out a very deliberative operation. They are trained for it and are the best in the country. I have faith in them."

DEVELOPING: AT THE OBEROI

A fierce gunbattle between terrorists and paramilitary forces is on at the Hotel Oberoi Trident in Mumbai, in what seems to be the endgame in the near 24-hour hostage and terror drama unfolding in the country’s financial hub.

The fourth floor of the five-star hotel is on fire and according to some reports, at least 30 are still trapped inside, most of them held hostage by armed gunmen.

The Army, the Navy, the National Security Guard and Rapid Action Force are involved in the raging encounter with unspecified number of heavily-armed terrorists.

As dusk fell, there was expectation that the forces would intensify their assault to overwhelm the terrorists.

About 20 to 25 of them were believed to have come in three small inflatable boats, whose mother ship has been traced by Indian naval ships patrolling the Arabian Sea.

In all, 101 people including nine foreigners and 14 policemen have lost their lives while about 300 people were injured in the worst terror attacks seen in the country in which desperate men fired indiscriminately at people.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that at least 18 terrorists were inside the hotel “There may be 16-18 terrorists still inside the hotel,” said a rescued foreign national, whose hands was wounded and bandaged.

“I cannot say more than this because it night hamper the ongoing operation,” he said, while leaving the place in haste.

While another foreign national, who wished not to be identified and was still trapped inside her hotel room, told Times Now on phone: “Though I am safe, I have no knowledge what operations are going inside the idea or inside the hotel. The television lines are cut but telephone lines are still operational.”

“I have contacted my family and have informed them about the situation,” she added.

At least 101 people have been killed and 280 injured in terror assaults on landmark buildings in Mumbai, with Indian security agencies engaged in a grim rescue operation of dozens of guests stranded inside hotels that were targeted by the terrorists.

On Wednesday night, Vice Chairman of Oberaoi Hotels SS Mukherjee feared there were at least 200 people trapped inside. "Altogether, there would be around 200 people inside the Oberoi complex in Mumbai. We believe that not less than 100 people are at the Oberoi side and not less than 100 people inside the Trident side,” he said.

Putting the occupancy at the hotel to be around 375-385, Mukherjee said the terrorists "have not gone down the basement and have only gone to the upper floors".

The Ministry of External Affairs has set up a control room. The phone numbers are: 91-11-23015300, 23012113, 23013537.

The fax number is 91-11-23018158.

Taj helpline numbers: 022 - 66574322, 66574372, 1800111825. Oberoi helpline number: 011-23890606

(With inputs from CNN-IBN Correspondents Yogita Limaye, Toral Varia, Rohit Chandavarkar, Raksha Shetty and George Koshy)

His Holliness The Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama - Exclusive Interview




Tenzin Kunsel - Om Mani Padme Hun

Terrorist attacks in Bombay: hour by hour so far
As and when - the key points and latest developments from the unfolding drama in India's financial capital
Employees and guest of the Taj Mahal hotel, site of one of the shootouts with terrorists, are recued by firefighters

Employees and guest of the Taj Mahal Hotel are recued by firefighters
Rhys Blakely in Bombay

At 9.45pm on Wednesday, Parizaad Khan, 26, had just picked up her first drink, a fruit juice, at a wedding reception being held in the Crystal Room on the third floor of the century-old Taj Mahal Palace hotel. When bangs were heard outside, the partygoers, a mixture of Indians and foreigners, thought they were fireworks. Then a hail of bullets smashed through one of the windows.

Only then did it begin to dawn on the hundreds of guests at the 565-room hotel that several slightly built young men, wearing casual clothes - denim jackets, tracksuit tops, T-shirts and jeans - were storming the lobby. It is thought at least one was carrying a large haversacks, stuffed with ammunition and grenades, A couple of minutes' drive away, similar scenes were unfolding at the Oberoi hotel, another favourite haunt of wealthy locals and ex-pats.

Alex Chamberlain, a British sports writer, described how gunmen had burst into a hotel restaurant and began herding guests upstairs. “They told everybody to stop and put their hands up and asked if there were any British or Americans. My friend said to me, 'Don't be a hero. Don't say you are British.'”

In those opening moments of what would became a night of horror for hundreds of hostages, guests and staff rushed to protect themselves.
Related Links

* Pakistani boat searched after Bombay horror

* Intelligence chiefs expected Al-Qaeda spectacular

* ANALYSIS: a new tactic by Islamist militants

Multimedia

* Pictures: Bombay terror attacks

On the 25th floor of the Taj, John Alexander, a shipping executive, was meeting a delegation of senior foreign businessmen. “We heard lots of explosions,” he said. “Part of the delegation that had tried to exit the building had been turned back. We decided to barricade ourselves in. That's where I stayed for the next seven hours."

A waiter also barricaded the doors of the Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj. Diners cowered under their tables for about 30 minutes before being led through a maze of service corridors to the hotel's business centre. The Crystal Room wedding party was making its way to the same sanctuary.

Elsewhere in the hotel, guests fleeing to the rear of the building away from the lobby ran straight into the path of another gunman. Sajjid Karim, a British MEP, said: “He was at the rear gate, holding a large machine gun .He pointed it at the crowd and started to use it.".

About five minutes' drive north from the Taj, at about 10.30pm, four men armed with automatic weapons walked into a restaurant at CST, India's main railway station. They opened fire indiscriminately on the families dining there, changing their magazines three times. “It was a massacre,” one eyewitness said.

At 11.15pm, an American couple, Deb and Gary Hvass were making their way back to their hotel near the Taj. They passed Leopolds, a café popular with western backpackers, which had been attacked about an hour earlier. The shopfront, usually open to the bustle of Apollo Bunder, one of Bombay's most popular tourist streets, was shuttered.

Inside, drinks and meals were left half-consumed. Six bullet holes had pierced a window of a four-wheel drive jeep parked next to the café. Bloodstains streaked the floor. As the couple walked by, a local hissed at them: “Get off the streets. They're looking for your kind."

By 3am, back in the Taj, about 300 people had been holed up in Chambers, the business centre that had been commandeered as a makeshift bunker by guests and staff, for several hours. "It was surprisingly calm," Parizaad Khan said. "The staff were handing out blankets and water." Shortly after 3am, part of the group was told - or decided themselves, Ms Khan is not sure - to make a break for it through a maze of service corridors. They split themselves into parties of about ten people. "I was in the fourth group," Parizaad said. We were waiting to run down these very narrow corridors, but suddenly there were shots very, very close. The group split. Some went on, others turned back. I went back and spent hours face down on the floor, too terrified to move."

By this stage, the police were desperately trying to out how many terrorist had struck and where. Their best guess was at least 26 gunmen at as many as 16 locations. The head of Bombay's anti-terror squad had been shot and killed. Soldiers had assembled around the stricken hotels, apparently preparing to storm the buildings. Across Bombay, chaos reigned: close to the domestic airport, a taxi had blown up. Closer to the Taj, a boat laden with explosives had been discovered and it was thought seven gunmen had taken over a Jewish family's home in a block of flats. More soldiers were gathering outside that building. It was thought that perhaps five terrorists had been killed and at least 80 members of the public had died.

Intelligence sources began muttering about a foreign hand, a thinly veiled nod towards Pakistan.

By 5am, at Bombay's St George Hospital, Peter Keep, a British entrepreneur had counted at least 40 dead bodies. “It's not an experience that will leave me soon," he said.

On India's television networks it was being reported that a previously unknown group called the Deccan Mujahideen had taken responsibility for the attacks. Later, it was claimed that the group had demanded in return for the hostages the release of members of the Indian Mujahideen, a group that has launched a string of devastating bomb attacks across India in recent months.

Meanwhile, the upper floors of the Taj, where it was feared scores of hostages had been taken, had been set ablaze. “The terrorists want to kill everybody,” a senior fireman said. “We have no idea how many people are dead inside.”

As the hours passed, they were punctuated by reports of sporadic gunfire at both hotels.

At about 8am on Thursday, Parizaad Khan finally escaped from the Taj. She was herded onto a bus at the lobby door by heavily armed commandos. As it sped away, terrorists opened fire on the fleeing bus. Half an hour later, shorts were heard at the Jewish family's home.

By 9am, there appeared to be a lull. Around this time it is thought that Indian security forces began to creep through both the Taj and the Oberoi, searching for terrorists room-to-room.

Outside the Taj, drivers were still waiting for the clients they had dropped off more than 12 hours earlier. Many companies had established contact with executives trapped in the building: Standard & Poors, the ratings agency, was calling two hostages every 45 minutes.

The following hours saw a tense stand-off between the terrorists and the waiting security forces. An official later claimed the hostage situation at the Taj was over. The call was premature: at about 3pm two more explosions were heard at the hotel. The Indian government later said that 200 hostages were being held at the Oberoi.

By 3.30pm on Thursday, the first death rites of those killed the night before had begun.

Winter and some Christmas pieces

Terror Strikes Mumbai 26-27-11-2008

BREAKING NEWS
Terror grips India's largest city
updated 24 minutes ago
Terror grips India's largest city
The morning after teams of gunmen carried out a brazen series of attacks across southern Mumbai, killing scores of people and taking hostages in three locations, police said all hostages were freed from the Taj Mahal Hotel. Dozens of people, who appeared to be mostly Westerners, were seen leaving the hotel. developing story

* Witness 'splattered with blood' | Web accounts
* AC360° Blog | Recent attacks | Maps | Photos

* Truck opens fire; bystanders duck Video | Videos
* iReport.com: Are you there? Send photos

(CNN) -- The morning after teams of gunmen carried out a brazen series of attacks across southern Mumbai, killing scores of people and taking hostages in three locations, the situation showed little signs of a quick resolution.
Guests comfort each other as they leave the Taj Hotel early Thursday in Mumbai, India.

Guests comfort each other as they leave the Taj Hotel early Thursday in Mumbai, India.
Click to view previous image
1 of 3
Click to view next image
more photos »

A series of gunshots rang through the air at the Oberoi Hotel Thursday morning, where about 100 members of a specialized unit of the Indian police undertook an operation to rescue four to five foreigners hostages on the 19th floor.

A few blocks away, a series of gunfire sent curious onlookers scurrying for cover at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Shortly afterward, police escorted dozens of people -- who appeared to be mostly westerners -- out of the hotel. A.N. Roy, the police chief of Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, said all hostages there had been freed.

A standoff at a third location -- the Cama Hospital for women and infants -- also appeared to have been resolved by Thursday morning, CNN's sister station CNN-IBN reported. It was not immediately known whether gunmen at the hospital fled or were killed.

Israel Foreign Ministry was attempting to locate about 20 Israeli nationals missing in the city as police said four suspected gunmen took cover in a building called Nariman House, where several Jewish families live.

Police said gunmen fired indiscriminately from the building throughout the night. Stray bullets killed a couple in their home and a 16-year-old boy who stepped outside, police said.

Authorities asked residents in Mumbai to stay inside, uncertain whether other attacks were planned in the city.
Don't Miss

* iReport.com: Are you there? Tell your story, send your photos
* Witness: 'I was splattered with blood'
* Accounts on Web sites
* World condemns attacks
* Amanpour: Crucial time
* Stevens: City in lockdown
* Video from Mumbai
* Special report: Attacks in Mumbai

That warning failed to stop knots of curious onlookers from strolling Thursday through the streets of this financial center to survey the damage at some of the 10 sites that, without warning, had turned into battlegrounds late Wednesday.

Mumbai remained locked down with police checking cars randomly. The stock market in the city -- the financial capital of India -- was closed, as were schools and colleges.

Government officials said the attacks caught them completely unawares, with no intelligence chatter indicating that such a coordinated assault was in the works. Instead, authorities had focused their attention on securing movie theaters and malls after receiving indications that terrorists were intending to attack those locations, CNN-IBN reported.

"It's war on Mumbai," read the banner headline on the front page of The Times of India.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa put the death toll to be at least 85 and another 200 wounded. An earlier report said an additional nine attackers had been killed.

At the five-star Taj Mahal Hotel, a fire continued to burn hours after it began on the top floor of the majestic, century-old Victorian building popular among Western tourists and diplomats.

CNN employee Yasmin Wong was among the guests at the Taj Mahal who holed up in her fourth-floor room for several hours, then ran out her door, down the stairs, into the lobby and past the pool in the rear of the hotel to safety.

"I saw a few casualties on the way down," she told CNNI. She said she also saw the guest in a room above hers. He had smashed out his fifth-floor window to escape the fire and was hanging out his window, but no one was there to help.
International hot lines
Australia: Department of Foreign Affairs offers these numbers: In Australia: 1-800-002 214. Australians overseas, call 61 2 6261-3305.

UK: The British Ministry of Foreign Affairs is directing concerned UK nationals to call 44 (0)20 7008-0000

U.S.: The State Department has established a Consular Call Center: The number is 888-407-4747.

"He was just screaming and yelling for help," she said, adding that she did not know what became of the man. "I'd been instructed just to get out of my room," she said.

Bhushan Gagrani, a spokesman for Maharashtra, said no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

But several Indian news outlets reported receiving e-mails from a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen that claimed responsibility for the attacks. CNN was not able to verify the reports.

Gagrani said nine suspects were arrested overnight and three other people were detained for questioning. CNN-IBN reported that seven of the nine arrested are fishermen. The network said that police found a boat loaded with explosives near the Taj Mahal.

Hemant Karkare, chief of Mumbai police's anti-terrorism squad, was among the fatalities at the Hotel Oberoi, officials said.

In addition, 11 other police were killed, Deshmukh said. He said officials did not know how many attackers were involved.

A man told local television that he was in the Oberoi around 10 p.m. when gunmen entered the lobby and began rounding up guests, asking for anyone with a U.S. or British passport and taking hostage about 15 of them.

The Cafe Leopold, another popular hangout for Western tourists, was also targeted, and one police official said an attack occurred at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, a Victorian building.

CNN-IBN reported the attacks began shortly before 10 p.m. (12:30 p.m. ET) Wednesday and witnesses were reporting new explosions and gunfire into early Thursday morning.

A.N. Roy, the police chief of Maharashtra, said the gunmen used grenades and automatic weapons.

India has suffered a number of attacks in recent years, including a string of bombs that ripped through packed Mumbai commuter trains and platforms during rush hour in July 2006. About 209 people were killed in that attack.

Last July, a series of synchronized bomb blasts in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad left 49 dead and more than 100 wounded, police said.

But Paresh Parihar, a businessman in Mumbai, described Wednesday's attacks as unlike any previous ones.

"They really don't fear for their lives or any other activity that could put them in danger," he told CNN. "This is really a very unusual situation."

Mumbai ordered schools closed Thursday