Give a tribute to our heres

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Hemant Karkare

Vijay Salaskar

Ashok Kamte

Mohan Chand Sharma

And also those whoes profile is not added but killed in terrorist attack.

 

Sign a Petition

To: Prime Minister of India

3 (three) urgent steps that needs to be taken to send a signal to the perpetrators and as well as the victims that this time round Indian political leadership will take visible action and “Walk the Talk”.

Very Simply – We want “Assertive Action” in response to the recent terror incidents(mini-war) in Mumbai.

1)Destroy Internal Terror Support Network
Internal Elements/known suspects/peripherally suspected/passive helpers, residing in any part of India, supporting terror activities should be dealt with very severely.

2)Cripple the Source
26 Nov should be treated as India’s 9/11
a) All known training camps outside the country should be attacked and destroyed.
b) All known terror suspects hiding out openly in neighboring countries should be flushed out by mounting unprecedented global pressure on their governments.

3)Police force of all states to be better equipped, trained and the most advanced surveillance systems to be deployed nationwide on a scale that will by itself act as a deterrent.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Click Here to sign Petition

 

Israel buries Mumbai attack dead

Thousands of mourners bid an emotional farewell in Israel to Jewish victims of the Mumbai attacks.

Large crowds gathered for the funerals of a rabbi and his wife, who ran the Chabad House Jewish cultural centre in the Indian city.

Those present included President Shimon Peres, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Six Jews died at the centre, which was one of several places targeted in the attacks that left 188 people dead.

The victims’ bodies were flown to Tel Aviv on an Israeli air force flight early on Tuesday.

They include four Israelis, one US citizen and one Mexican.

‘Why, why, why?’

At the Chabad headquarters in Kfar Chabad, a village near Tel Aviv, around 10,000 mourners thronged the main square for the funerals of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and his wife Rivkah, 28.

Moshe at a Mumbai memorial service for his parents

Tense times for Mumbai’s Jews

The two bodies, wrapped in blue and white prayer shawls, were laid out on a podium.

Many mourners had tears streaming down their faces as a rabbi delivered a eulogy asking: “Why, why, why?”

The couple’s two-year-old son, Moshe, survived the attack. He was found crying next to their bodies by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel.

She hid in a cupboard when the centre was attacked, but emerged to rescue the child after his parents were killed.

Ms Samuel was given a passport at the last minute and travelled to Israel with the young boy and his grandparents for the funerals.

The Israeli foreign ministry was said to be considering granting Ms Samuel the status of “Righteous Gentile” – one of the highest honours Israel can bestow on non-Jews – which would allow her to remain in Israel for some time.

The Holtzbergs will be buried on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.

Bitter homecoming

In Mea Sharim, an ultra-Orthodox enclave in Jerusalem, thousands of people mourned Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum, a 38-year-old US citizen who lived in Jerusalem.

Mr Teitelbaum was in Mumbai last week supervising the preparation of kosher food.

They were the mother and father of the Jewish community in Mumbai
Shimon Rosenberg
Father of the late Rivkah Holtzberg

A funeral was also held for Mexican citizen Norma Schwartzblatt-Rabinowitz. The mother-of-two had been planning to move to Israel to live with her daughters, media reports said.

Earlier, a brief ceremony was held at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv as the flag-draped coffins arrived.

Among those on the Israeli air force plane were the parents of Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, who had attended an emotional ceremony at a Mumbai synagogue on Monday.

“The house they built here in Mumbai will live with them,” Rivkah’s father, Shimon Rosenberg, told about 100 mourners at Keneseth Eliyahoo synagogue.

“They were the mother and father of the Jewish community in Mumbai,” he said. “The House of Chabad will live again.”

The Chabad centre was stormed on Wednesday evening by armed militants who seized hostages and fought a gun battle with Indian commandos.

Indian forces eventually regained control of the centre, killing several gunmen, but six of the hostages were found dead.

 

TA tribute to NSG

For 58 hours, as a bunch of determined, and lethally armed, terrorists held Mumbai to ransom, out to destroy everything the city, and India, stands for, our men in uniform have taken them on, bravely and against all odds.

Finally, at considerable cost to themselves, the security forces have brought the grim nightmare to an end.

For this, no words will be enough to pay tribute them. As a stunned nation gropes around for a ray of hope, our heroes in uniform stand tall, assuring us that the nation’s, and our own, destiny, is in safe hands.

Many people forget that India is a tough nation. Toothless leaders have turned India into a soft nation. People forget that India has fought back Muslim terrorism in Kashmir; Sikh terrorism in Punjab, Christian terrorism in Nagaland and Hindu terrorism in Assam, and amongst the Naxalites

 

Candle light vigil in US

Congressman Joe Crowley at a Candle Light Vigil to pay the last respect to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The meet was held at Jackson Hights on Monday.

 

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

 

Timeline: Mumbai under attack

The attacks in Mumbai began during the evening of 26 November. Reports say the militants arrived on dinghies, possibly launched from an outlying vessel. Here is a list of subsequent events with approximate timings.

WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER

2120 local time (1550 GMT): Gunfire starts at the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station when at least two gunmen storm the crowded terminal, firing indiscriminately. Many of the deaths and injuries occurred in this attack.

2120-2200: Gunmen raid the Cama and Albless Hospital, shooting indiscriminately. One attacker is captured here.

2120-2200: Gunmen seize control of the Nariman House business and residential complex. Police surround the complex, which houses the Jewish Chabad Lubavitch outreach centre.

2120-2200: Gunmen storm the Cafe Leopold and open fire on diners, causing numerous causalities.

2120-0100: Gunmen storm the Oberoi-Trident hotel, where about 380 people are staying.

2120-0100: At least seven gunmen enter the lobby of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where about 450 people are staying, and begin firing. Large fire reported.

2250: Gunfire reported at Times of India offices.

THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER

0100-0400: Indian army in running battles with militants at the two hotels. Small groups of guests manage to escape.

0245: A group calling itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” claims responsibility for the attacks.

0400: Standoff continues at the Jewish outreach centre.

1030: Army says it is doing room-by-room searches of Taj but explosions still heard at both hotels.

1630: The Indian navy says its forces have boarded a cargo vessel they believe to be linked to the attacks.

1630: Indian PM delivers speech to the nation saying the militants will not escape and blaming “external” elements.

1640: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari speaks of the need for strong measures to eradicate terrorism.

FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER

0230: Gunfire and loud explosions still being heard from the Taj and the Jewish centre, Nariman House.

0730: Commandos are dropped from helicopters on to Nariman House and begin a sweep through the building.

1100: Indian commandos take full control of the Oberoi hotel and release hostages.

1300: Indian commandos report 30 bodies in one Taj hall.

1500: Mumbai police report that five hostages inside the Jewish centre have been found shot dead.

1800: Indian security forces say they have secured the Jewish centre. Eight Israeli or dual Israeli-US citizens have been killed and two gunmen.

1830: Security operations still continue at the Taj although there is much less gunfire.

SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER

04:30: Renewed explosions and gunfire are heard from inside the Taj.

0730: Fire breaks out on the lower floors of the Taj. Shortly afterwards Indian television reports that the siege is over.

0850: Indian police declare the Taj Mahal siege over, with the deaths of three gunmen.

 

India asks Pakistan for fugitives

India has asked Pakistan to hand over 20 fugitives from Indian law who it believes are settled in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India lodged a formal protest and gave the names to Pakistan’s high commissioner at a meeting on Monday.

Tensions have risen between the two neighbours since the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last week.

Officials say 201 people were killed – including 22 foreigners – and more than 200 were injured in the violence.

Indian officials have repeatedly said in recent days there is evidence the militants behind the attacks had Pakistani links.

Islamabad has denied involvement and warned against letting “miscreants” inflame tensions in the region.

India’s new home minister has vowed to “respond with determination and resolve” over the crisis.

 

India, US, Israel must ally against terror

An American anti-terrorist and human rights expert on South Asia believes the intelligence failures in Mumbai were systemic and in some ways aped the failures of the United States before September 11, 2001.

Richard L Benkin, founder of Interfaith Strength, said in an interview with this correspondent that one gigantic problem in India is the lack of coordination among intelligence agencies that might have “different pieces to a deadly puzzle.”

“Although Israeli intelligence has been aiding India on a number of fronts, there was little or no multi-national coordination, and that is a particularly deadly mistake with regard to Islamist terror because Islamist terror is an international phenomenon and discreet national efforts will never defeat the enemy at its source,” Benkin said.

“The third systemic failure is the refusal of the Indian government to recognise that Islamist terror is an existential threat whose perpetrators will be satisfied with nothing less than the death of India as we know it,” he said.

By his admission Benkin has traveled to South Asia several times to free political prisoners, visit refugee camps, identify the alliance among South Asian Islamists and Communists, oppose Islamist radicals, and protest the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Benkin said there have been over 11,000 incidents of terror worldwide. He noted that even before the Mumbai terror attacks , terrorists had murdered over 1,100 Indian citizens this year alone. “What sort of rationalisations could convince anyone that these attacks are discreet and limited? We in the United States made the same mistake when we failed to see the same threat after the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York,” he said.

“But I do not believe that these delusions are coming from the intelligence establishment itself. Clearly, these agencies are not independent operators and are held subordinate to the political structures and elected leaders in the nation,” he said.

“We have the same problem in the United States. To be sure, India and the United States are democracies and have certain standards of acceptable and moral behaviour but it is a particularly imbecility of our time that holds those structures incompetent if they do not demonstrate their power over the intelligence professionals in some public manner,” he said.

In response to a question whether or not anger generated by the attacks in Mumbai would be translated into a sustained government resolve to overcome terror, Benkin said the first and most important factor is recognising the fact that no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or the next day, or even if the US apprehends Osama bin Laden, the terrorist threat will be diminished perhaps for a time but in no way eliminated.

He said there is a need to recognise that the threat is a transnational one, needing a transnational response.

Benkin favours an alliance against extremism among India, Israel and the United States. “All three countries have been targeted for elimination by the Islamists — and if that is not sufficient motivation for strong action, it is rather impossible to imagine what is. Each of these three nations has withstood unrelenting terror attacks and still thrives,” he said. “Their power in an alliance would be unstoppable — so long as all three discard self-destructive notions like political correctness. Once those conceptual changes have been made, effective action is a matter of filling in the blanks.”

 

R.R. Patil resigned

Maharashtra Deputy CM RR Patil, who was under fire for terming the recent terror attacks in Mumbai as a “small incident”, has resigned as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra. RR Patil has sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. “I have gone by my conscience and decided to step down”, says RR Patil.

There is little doubt that public outrage has forced Patil to resign. He had refused to resign from his post on Sunday. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar reportedly asked RR Patil to tender resignation after his “small incident’ remark caused public outrage across the country.

According to sources, Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh will be asked to resign. If he does not, then he is likely to be removed. The Congress leadership does not want to take any chance in the wake of rising public anger against the Congress and Centre for failing to fight the menace of terrorism.