Attacks on Mumbai November 2008
Terror targets Mumbai again, 100 people have been killed and 250 injured as per reports till now.
At least 100 people have been killed in the worst terror strike in Mumbai. Attack happened in almost 8-10 places at the same time.
The hostage crisis continued (on 27th November Morning) at Taj Hotel as Army commandos moved into the luxury Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels in Mumbai early on Thursday to flush out terrorists holed up hours after an unspecified number of heavily armed gunmen went on a rampage in ten places in south Mumbai, killing 80 persons and taking some foreigners hostage.
Four suspected terrorists were killed in two separate incidents overnight, including two during a gun battle in the country’s iconic landmark Taj hotel, police said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said nine suspected terrorists have been arrested. Schools and colleges were ordered to be closed on Thursday.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said five police officers including Anti Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare were killed in one of the worst terror strikes in the country’s financial capital that in all claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel.
“The operation (by security forces in Mumbai) is still going on,” he said. Besides army commandoes, naval commandos and Rapid Action force personnel joined in the operations to rescue those stranded in the two hotels. Five columns of Army and 200 NSG commandoes have been rushed. Two sten guns have been recovered by the police so far, he added.
The terrorists came by boats and struck at 10 places but their number is not known immediately, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.
The terror attacks began between 9 pm and 9.15 pm with indiscriminate firing and bomb blasts, Deshmukh said.
The attackers threw grenades and fired indiscriminately while storming the hotels across Mumbai, he added.
A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media organizations.
Three top police officers were part of almost 11 policemen killed till now (November 26th Morning) in the operations. Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte were top police officials in Mumbai and have laid down their lives in the operations.
The hostage situation is still not under control at 9 am on 26th November as some of the terrorists are still going into some residential buildings like Nariman House and Merchant House and taking some residents hostage.
Also, as the NSG commandos come into action, some people have been rescued at the Taj Hotel. These people have been stuck for the last 12 hours. Almost 50 odd people seem to have been rescued as things are still not under control.
Continous coverage of this incident is also available on Rediff, Indiatimes, CNN IBN, Hindu, NDTV and lots of other sites and tv channels.
Times Now reports at almost 9.30 am on 26th November that things have cooled down at Taj and most hostages have been rescued and being put into a bus to move to a safer destination. However, things at Nariman House have not improves and firing between the terrorist and police is intensive.
Following are previous major terrorist attacks in Mumbai:
July 11, 2006: More than 200 people killed in seven blasts on suburban trains and stations.
August 25, 2003: 46 people killed in two blasts including one near the Gateway of India.
March 12, 1993: A series of bomb blasts left 257 dead and around 700 injured. Buildings attacked included the Bombay Stock Exchange, hotels, theatres, passport office, Air India building and Sahar Airport.
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