Mumbai shootout 26 Nov

The November 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of ten coordinated attacks which began across Mumbai (Bombay), the largest city in India and the country’s financial capital, on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008 when Indian security forces finally regained control of all attack sites.

Location	Type of attack	Casualties	Rescued
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria) railway station	Shootings; grenade attacks.	55	none
Leopold Café, Colaba	Shootings, grenade explosion.	10	none
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel	Shootings; six explosions; fire on ground, first, and top floors; hostages;RDX found nearby.	50 approx	around 250
Oberoi Trident hotel	Shootings; explosions; hostages; fire.	24	143
Metro Cinema	Shooting from carjacked police jeep
Cama Hospital	Shootings; hostages	3 policemen	none
Nariman House (Mumbai Chabad House)	Siege; shootings hostages.	6	9
Vile Parle suburb, North Mumbai	Car bomb blast.	3	none
Mazagaon docks	Explosion; boat with armaments seized.	none	none
Girgaum Chowpatty	1 terrorist killed and 1 arrested by a team from the Gamdevi police station.	2	none

Terrorists involved

* Azam Amir Kasav & Abu Ismail Dera Ismail Khan, (attacked CST, police vehicle in cama hospital, Metro cinema, Vidhan Bhavan, Girgaum Chowpatty)
* 4 Terrorists in Taj Hotel, 2 Terrorists in Oberoi Hotel, 2 Terrorists in Nariman House ( Abu Ali, Fahad, Omar, Shoaib, Umer, Abu Akasha, Abdul Rahman (Bara), and Abdul Rahman).

Entry into India

Date	Estimated Time (+0530 UTC)	Event
Nov 21	evening	Ten terrorists leave Karachi, Pakistan in a boat & travel for thirty-eight hours, remaining undetected by the Indian Navy.
Nov 22		Each of the 10 men are given 6-7 magazines of 30 rounds each plus 400 rounds not loaded in magazines , 8 hand grenades, one AK-47 assault rifle, an automatic loading revolver, credit cards and a supply of dried fruit.
Nov 22		A separate group check in to the Taj Hotel with arms and ammunition.
Nov 23		The terrorists hijack an Indian trawler, Kuber, killing four fishermen and ordering the captain to sail to India.
Nov 24		The terrorists kill the captain and sail to Gujarat and raise a white flag. Two coast guard officers approach and question them. They kill one of the officers and force the other to sail them to Mumbai.
Nov 26		They reach within four nautical miles (7 km) of Mumbai and kill the other coast guard officer. They then proceed to board three inflatable speedboats and reach Colaba jetty at dusk.
Nov 26		The ten men get off at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade, three blocks away from Nariman House.
Nov 26		Four of the men enter the Taj Mahal Hotel, two enter the Oberoi Trident, two enter Nariman House, and the other two men, Azam and Ismail, take a taxi to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

At the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel

Sources: NDTV, Evening Standard, and BBC

Date	Estimated Time (+0530 UTC)	Event
Nov 26	11:00 PM	Terrorists enter Taj hotel.
Nov 27	12:00 AM	Mumbai Police surrounds the hotel.
Nov 27	01:00 AM	Massive blast in the central dome, fire in the building.
Nov 27	02:30 AM	Army soldiers arrive in two trucks and enter the front lobby. Fire spreads across the top floor.
Nov 27	03:00 AM	Fire Engines arrive. Shootings heard inside lobby and heritage building.
Nov 27	4:00 AM	Firemen rescue people with ladders. More than 200 people evacuated
Nov 27	4:30 AM	Terrorists reported to move from central dome to new tower.
Nov 27	5:00 AM	Commandos and Bomb squad arrive. Police step up heat.
Nov 27	5:30 AM	Fire brought under control but terrorists holed up in new tower with 100–150 hostages.
Nov 27	6:30 AM	Security forces say they are ready for encounter.
Nov 27	8:00 AM	People are brought out of the lobby.
Nov 27	8:30 AM	Another 50 people brought out of Chambers club.
Nov 27	9:00 AM	More rounds of firing, many more people reported to be stuck inside.
Nov 27	10:30 AM	Gunbattle reported from inside
Nov 27	12 Noon	50 evacuated
Nov 27	4:30 PM	Militants set fire to a room on the 4th floor
Nov 27	7:20 PM	More NSG commandos arrive, enter hotel
Nov 27	11:00 PM	Operations continue
Nov 27	2:53 PM	Six bodies recovered
Nov 27–28	2:53 PM – 3:59	Ten grenade explosions
Nov 28	3:00 PM	Marine commandos recover explosives from Taj.
Nov 28	4.00 PM	12–15 dead bodies recovered from the Taj by Naval Commandos.
Nov 28	7:30 PM	Fresh explosions and gun shots at Taj Hotel.
Nov 28	8:30 PM	Reported that one terrorist left at the Taj.
Nov 29	3:40 AM – 4:10 AM	Reports of five explosions at the Taj.
Nov 29	5:05 AM	Revised estimate of one terrorist remaining.
Nov 29	07:30 AM	Fire raging on first floor. Black smoke from second floor. Gunshots heard frequently—apparent gun battle.
Nov 29	08:00 AM	Indian commandos state that the Taj Hotel is now under control. However they are still conducting room to room searches. People celebrate on the streets.

At the Oberoi Trident

Date	Estimated Time	Event
Nov 27	6 AM	NSG arrives, storms hotel.
Nov 27	8:40 AM	Firing heard, Top army, navy officers arrive and take stock.
Nov 27	1:30 PM	Two small explosions. More reinforcements enter building.
Nov 27	3:25 PM	Some foreign hostages rescued
Nov 27	5:35 PM	Sikh regiment arrives, fierce gunbattle.
Nov 27	6 PM	27 hostages come out of Air India building, four foreigners taken to hospital.
Nov 27	6:45 PM	Explosion heard. Two NSG guards, 25 army personnel suspected injured. More people rescued, in all 31.
Nov 27	7:10 PM	1 terrorist arrested.
Nov 27	7:25 PM	Fire breaks out on 4th floor
Nov 27	11 PM	Operations continue
Nov 28	10 AM	Many hostages evacuated from the Trident building.
Nov 28	3:00 PM	Commando operations at Oberoi over, 24 dead bodies recovered. 143 hostages rescued alive. Two militants shot dead.

At Nariman House

Date	Estimated Time	Event
Nov 27	7 AM	Police began evacuating adjacent buildings.
Nov 27	11 AM	Cross-firing between terrorists and police; one militant injured.
Nov 27	2:45 PM	Terrorists threw grenade into nearby lane; no casualties.
Nov 27	5:30 PM	NSG commandos arrive, naval helicopter took aerial survey.
Nov 27	11 PM	Operations continued.
Nov 27	12 PM	9 hostages rescued from first floor.
Nov 28	7:30 AM	NSG commandos airdropped onto the top of Nariman house.
Nov 28	7:30 PM	All 6 hostages including the Rabbi and his wife found killed by the terrorists.
Nov 28	8:30 PM	NSG commandos declared the operations over, 2 terrorists killed.

Casualties

At least 172 people had been killed in the attacks and 293 wounded. Among the dead were 124 Indian civilians, 17 policemen and 31 foreigners. The breakdown of the foreigners was as follows: four Americans, four Australians, three Canadians, three Germans, two Israeli-Americans, two Israelis, two French, two Italians, one British-Cypriot, one Dutch, one Japanese, one Jordanian, one Malaysian, one Mauritian, one Mexican, one Singaporean and one Thai.

In addition, nine terrorists were killed and one was captured.

27 other foreigners of different nationalities were injured in the terror strikes and were admitted to the Bombay Hospital. Hospital sources said the injured foreigners were from Australia, USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Canada, Spain, Norway, Finland, Oman, China, Japan, the Philippines and Jordan.

Andreas Liveras, a British yachting tycoon (of dual Greek Cypriot and British citizenship), was among those confirmed killed. German TV producer Ralph Burkei, and French lingerie tycoon, Loumia Hiridjee and her husband, were also among the dead. Husband and wife, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and Rivka Holtzberg, both of whom were hostages in Nariman House, also died during the attack.

According to Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, 14 policemen and three NSG commandos were killed, including the following officers:

• Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, who headed the team investigating the politically sensitive 2006 Malegaon blasts. Karkare had also been receiving death threats recently, including a threat to bomb his residence, but it is unclear if these were related to his death.
• Additional Commissioner of Police: Ashok Kamte
• Encounter specialist: Vijay Salaskar
• Senior inspector Shashank Shinde, who had recently been involved in investigating many of India’s recent bombings.
• NSG Commando, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
• NSG Commando Hawaldar Chandar
• NSG Commando Gajendra Singh

Three railway officials of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus had also been killed in the terror strikes.

The Government of Maharashtra announced Rs. 5 lakh (about 10,000 USD) compensation to the kin of those killed in the terror attacks and Rs. 50,000 (about 1,000 USD) to the seriously injured.

Nationality	Deaths	Injured
Indian	141	256
American	4	2
Australian	4	2
Canadian	3	2
German	3	3
American-Israeli	2	–
Israeli	2	–
French	2	–
Italian	2	–
Cypriot-British	1	–
Dutch	1	–
Japanese	1	1
Jordanian	1	1
Malaysian	1
Mauritian	1	–
Mexican	1	–
Singaporean	1	–
Thai	1	–
Austrian	–	1
British	–	7
Chinese	–	1
Omani	–	2
Filipino	–	1
Spanish	–	2
Finnish	–	1
Norwegian	–	1

Muslim Council refuses to bury militants in India

The Muslim Council of India decided not to allow burial of the bodies of the nine terrorists killed during the Mumbai siege in the Marine Lines Bada Qabrastan (cemetery). The council said it was trying to send a message to all cemeteries in India that none of the bodies should be buried on Indian soil.

Strong Nationalism among general public

The attack has put challenges for the Congress-led Indian government ahead of general elections, and also to persuade Pakistan to act against militants. Many general public want some kind of clear response to the attack that killed 183 people, from identifying and punishing the masterminds to trade sanctions against Pakistan, or passing firm anti-terrorism laws within India

Terrorism in Mumbai

The city of Mumbai, India has suffered several terrorist attacks, mostly bombings, including:

* 12 March 1993 – Series of 13 bombs go off killing 257
* 06 December 2002 – Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar killing 2
* 27 January 2003 – Bomb goes off on a bicycle in Vile Parle killing 1
* 14 March 2003 – Bomb goes off in a train in Mulund killing 10
* 28 July 2003 – Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar killing 4
* 25 August 2003 – Two Bombs go off in cars near the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar killing 50
* 11 July 2006 – Series of seven bombs go off in trains killing 209
* 19 October 2008 – North Indians killed in various part of Maharastra. (killed 20 people).
* 26 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 – Coordinated series of attacks killing at least 189

 

90 killed in Mumbai terror attack

November 26, 2008 22:40 IST
Last Updated: November 27, 2008 02:49 IST

02:50 AM: Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament N N Krishnadas, who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.

Krishnadas told CNN that he is holed up in a room, and outside of the noise of explosions and gunfire has no real idea what is happening within the premises.

Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in one of the hotel’s middle floors has been spreading upwards, adding a fresh hazard both to the police and CRPF personnel engaged in the anti-terrorist operation and to the guests within the hotel.

Even as police sources upped the toll in today’s terrorist strikes in Mumbai at 80 and counting, police continue to lay siege to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where two terrorists are believed to be holding at least 15 guests hostage on one of the upper floors of the hotel.

The police are at this point in time unsure whether the two hostage takers are the only terrorists within the hotel.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has moved into the Oberoi and the Trident, the two other South Mumbai hotels targeted in today’s terrorist strikes.

A battalion of the Indian army entered the Oberoi and began an operation against the terrorists holed up inside. The army was called in after the police took several casualties, including the deaths of some senior officers.

With the army now in charge of this phase of the operation � the first time the Indian army is operating in the city since the 1992 riots � the police has fallen back and is focusing on cordoning off the area.

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, reporting for Rediff.com from outside the Oberoi Hotel, reports that with the cordon being drawn tight, people waiting outside are in a state of panic, and desperately searching for information. A group of senior bankers from Hyderabad are among those inside the hotel to attend a conference; their Mumbai-based colleagues are outside, awaiting word of their fate.

02: 25 AM: Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died of bullet wounds in the ongoing battle against armed terrorists that is raging across several parts of South Mumbai.

Vijay Salaskar, an officer attached to the Mumbai police who has been famed as an ‘encounter specialist’, was seriously injured in the ongoing gun battle and has been rushed to hospital. In all, seven Mumbai policemen are believed killed thus far.

Meanwhile, Railway Police Chief Ashok Sharma told Rediff.com that at least 40 people were killed inside Mumbai’s nodal Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. “The attack started around 9.35 pm,” Sharma said. “Two terrorists were inside. We can confirm at least 40 people killed.”

It is yet unclear whether the terrorists are still on-site, have left, or been killed. Sharma said there had been no firing from within the terminus for the last two hours. “Despite this, we are not allowing people to go into the station as we are worried that the terrorists might have planted bombs or left live grenades in the station,” he said.

Sharma said the official belief is that the two terrorists had sneaked out of the station in the confusion following the original assault.

Sudhir Dalvi, a sub-inspector attached to the Mumbai cell of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, told Sheela Bhatt for Rediff.com that his boss, ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior police officers Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, were killed in an incident outside Mumbai’s Cama Hospital.

“Our chief Karkare, my senior officer Salaskar and ACP Kamte died while engaging terrorists outside the Cama hospital,” a sobbing Dalvi told Rediff.com. “All of a sudden, terrorists threw grenades at Karkare leading to chaos. We are unable to confirm whether they fell to terrorist fire or were killed by the grenades.”

Meanwhile, the army has moved into the Trident Hotel, the third five-star hotel in the South Mumbai region that had been targeted in tonight’s coordinated terrorist strikes.

02:10 AM: It is now believed that 15 people, at least seven of them foreigners, have been taken hostage by two terrorists and are being held on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Rakesh Patel, a London-based businessman who managed to escape, told NDTV that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape.

Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports, and said he got the clear impression that they wanted foreigners.

01:50 AM: Krishnakumar reports from the Juhu region that a bomb went off in a taxi that was speeding along the Western Express Highway from Vile Parle towards Andheri, killing two people and injuring two others.

“The taxi exploded and went up in flames as it sped past the traffic island under the flyover at the domestic airport,” an eyewitness said on phone. “The vehicle, which was up in flames soon after it crossed the traffic signal, was on the left
side. A bystander and a person in the taxi were killed.

Reports indicate that this was perhaps the night’s highest-intensity blast. Krishnakumar reports that the taxi’s doors were found a distance of 50 meters or more away, and body parts of the victims had been thrown even further.

01:43 AM: At least two suspected terroristswere shot dead minutes earlier at the corner of Mumbai’s Chowpatty. Rediff’s Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, who is on the site, reports that the area has been cordoned off and is swarming with police officers; the Skoda is under guard and a cellphone, a jacket, and items of footwear are strewn around the vehicle.

Meanwhile at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the standoff between police, who have surrounded the hotel, and terrorists who are holed up inside, continues.

A short while ago, power went off in parts of the hotel, adding to the sense of panic and fear. Well known food critic Sabina Sahgal Saikia, who is inside the hotel, told NDTV on phone just now that the guests are terrified, and unaware of just what is happening around them. It is unclear at this point in time whether the power has been turned off by the police as they battle the terrorists.

01:27 AM: Rediff’s Vaihayasi Pande Daniel calls in from the Marine Drive region to report that the approaches to the South Mumbai area have been shut down, and that sounds of firing are audible as far away as Mumbai’s famed Queen’s Necklace stretch, though the source of the firing is unclear.

Meanwhile, a foreign national who managed to escape from the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a state of seige currently exists, told NDTV that armed and masked gunmen were wandering around inside the hotel, looking for people with American or British passports.

The eyewitness account appears to confirm the growing belief among law enforcement circles that this latest attack is aimed directly at foreign nationals — hence the choice of star hotels as prime targets. They further theorize that automatic weapons are being used rather than bombs in order to orchestrate such targeted mayhem.

Meanwhile, the real dangers of the situation are being exaggerated by a proliferation of rumors. One such that has been aired on a few channels including CNN suggested that firing was taking place at the JW Marriott, another five star hotel in the Juhu region of suburban Mumbai. A source in the hotel however confirmed to Rediff just now that there was no alarm at the hotel, and no incident of any kind had taken place.

12:44 AM: A gun battle is ongoing in the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Within the last ten minutes, a guest at the hotel got word out to CNN via email that a grenade had exploded within the hotel premises just then.

Additional Commissioner of Police AN Roy and other officials confirmed that some armed terrorists are holed up in the iconic hotel.

Police officials said they have no information of a hostage situation; they say guests have been sequestered in safe areas of the hotel, and the police are now engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hiding place.

 

Terror Attacks in Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 26: Mumbai was rocked by several incidents of firing at four different public places on Wednesday night. All incidents were within a radius of three kms in the posh South Mumbai.

At the time of the filing this report, Four people reported killed and 12 people were injured.

The first incident of firing was reported at Leopold Cafe, a well-known watering hole for tourists and foreigners in Colaba.

The second incident was near Taj Mahal hotel, the third was near Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point and the fourth one was at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.

No one including the police will confirm the reason behind the firing except the fact that some unknown people started firing indiscriminately.

Eyewitness also said that some grenades were thrown at a police van and also of two bomb blasts near the Oberoi hotel but it was not confirmed by officials.

The Mumbai police have cordoned off all the areas.

A blast was also reported in Vile Parle in suburban Mumbai

Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti confirmed the shootout at Colaba but did not give out details.
Two persons armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades are reportedly holed up inside CST station.

Sounds of gunshots are still being heard. Hundreds of onlookers gathered outside the station. The station and premises have been evacuated

Sources in the Cuffe Parade police station said that the police was still looking for the miscreants behind the firing at Colaba Causeway.

Eyewitnesses said that they heard at least 20 shots in CST station. Policemen and ambulances have rushed to the affected areas, they said.

A resident of Colaba and an eyewitness to some of the incidents said, “The police got news that there were explosions at the BMC headquarters in Lion Gate in South Mumbai. When the police arrived, the gangsters/terrorists fired at the police. As the police started chasing them towards the CST station, they opened indiscriminate fire.”

There were reports of explosions from the BMC headquarter, Oberoi Hotel and Colaba Market.