http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27928718 Terrorists attack several sites in Mumbai At least 18 people reported killed as gunmen target hotels, train station NBC News and news services updated 6 minutes ago MUMBAI, India - Terrorists armed with automatic weapons and grenades attacked at least seven sites in Mumbai on Wednesday, authorities said. Indian media reported at least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded. The gunmen targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction, a crowded train station and other sites in in India's financial capital, police and witnesses said. Local media reports said at least 18 people were killed in the attacks. Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra, said 90 people had been injured, but refused to say how many had died. A.N. Roy, a senior police officer, said police were continuing to battle the gunmen. "The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed, the encounters are still going on and we are trying to overpower them," he said. Gunmen opened fire on two of the city's best-known Luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi, and some reports said they took hostages. They also attacked the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station in southern Mumbai and Leopold's restaurant, a Mumbai landmark. It was not immediately clear what the motive was. Chaotic scene "It was really scary. It was like the sound of loud crackers, not one but several, we just ran out of there," said Janice Sequeira, a tourist who had been at a restaurant in the Taj Mahal Hotel. "The lobby of the Taj hotel is on fire," a police spokesman told Reuters. "We are trying to find out how many people are inside the hotel." At the Oberoi, police officer P.I. Patil said shots had been fired inside and the hotel had been cordoned off. He would not give any other details. Some of the injured were evacuated from the Taj on the hotel's golden luggage carts, while waiters in black and white formal wear and chefs were seen leaving the Oberoi. Leopold's, a restaurant popular with tourists, was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. A Reuters reporter heard two explosions and then short bursts of automatic gunfire in the same street as the restaurant. The wreckage of a red scooter, the remains of shop awnings and broken glass were strewn across the street. Armed police, rifles cocked at the hip, set up barricades around the explosion site, and local people were seen yelling at each other, angry that another terror attack had hit the city. Vehicles and street vendors' barrows were used to keep locals away, and speeding military four-wheel drives with horns blaring arrived at the bomb site. History of terrorist attacks There were other attacks elsewhere. The Press Trust of India quoted Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A.K. Sharma as saying that several men armed with rifles and grenades were holed up in the train station. Sameeran Chakraborty, a Mumbai resident, told the NDTV news channel he heard a blast inside a car near the city airport. "It was a big noise and one car was involved, definitely not more than that." India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists thought to be behind some of the attacks.
These terrorist are comming up with new ways of attack. This one seems to be a 'Serial firing' at several locations by several gunmen. How the hell can they plan such things even when the world is on high terror alert!! Local news says some Western tourists were taken hostage "IBN reported an ongoing battle at the five-star Oberoi Hotel where gunmen have reportedly taken hostages after searching out people with U.S. or British passports." http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/26/india.attacks/index.html
Well I hope your friend's family is OK. As far as trying to prevent things like this I don't know that much about what sort of security arrangements India has but given it is a very large and diverse country and Mumbai is a huge and chaotic city its probably very hard to prevent things like this.
Thanks for concern. Well.. they are now reporting that State Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare was killed in the attack. He was very famous in Anti-Terror circles. He received a anonymous caller death treat on Nov 25 saying he would be killed in 2 -3 days. It looks like 80+ people are dead and several injured in the attack. The numbers may be higher when this is all competed... Very depressing!!
Over 20 executives are staying in the Taj Hotel right now. Deccan Mujahideen has already sent emails to media claiming responsibility. PM Gilani of Pakistan said Pakistan is not involved. It appears the terrorism is not done yet in India. New Delhi is on high terror alert.
Wow - 98% of my relatives and my entire living family tree resides in Mumbai. My parents are freaking out...
I hope your friends are OK too. Do you know what hotel they were staying in? Texas Fight, I hope your family is OK too..
Sad day for Mumbai.. Here is a story from an eyewitness http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/26/mumbai.witness/index.html Dripping with another man's blood and seized by terror, British businessman Alan Jones says he was just seconds away from possible death as gunmen responsible for a wave of carnage in Mumbai stormed towards him. A wounded man is carried from the attacked rail station. "It was absolutely terrifying," Jones told CNN, describing the moment when the doors of the elevator he was riding down to the lobby of the Trident-Oberoi, one of several luxury hotels targeted in the attacks, opened to deadly scenes of chaos. "When the doors opened, two Japanese men riding with us got out, but immediately signaled for us to go back in the lift," he said, speaking by telephone as the violence that left at least 78 people dead continued to rage. "As they got back in, a bullet hit one of the Japanese men in the back of the leg. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere. "I looked up to see one of the gunmen was approaching. I tried to close the door, but the injured guy's leg was preventing it from closing." Jones said he dropped to his knees and frantically pulled the Japanese man's leg back into the elevator, watching the doors close even as the gunman was bearing down on them. iReport.com: Are you there? "I only just kept it together enough to get the door shut," he said. Jones, 42, said he and the others in the elevator rode to the top floor -- the Japanese men getting out midway -- where hotel staff later advised them to seek refuge in the basement via a secure elevator. Others were not so lucky. The gunmen reportedly seized at least 15 hostages in targeted hotels after a hunt for people with British or U.S. passports. "After an hour in a ballroom, they evacuated us in groups of 10 to what they said was a safe area, although it still didn't feel very safe. "We had no idea what was going on, it was crazy... chaos," he said. Eventually he and colleagues were moved to his business's local offices, where he said he was able to catch his breath. "One of my colleagues has drunk half a bottle of whisky; that's how he's dealing with it. I feel calmer now, but I'm still very confused about what is going on."
This is crazy. I was one of the first people to find out the Deccan Mujahideen was behind this. I google searched them immediately, and I only got 1 result - and it wasn't even in English. I just googled them again, and I got more than 10,000 results.
First person to try to score cf.net BBS D&D cool points about this by making some tortured analogy to domestic politics should ****ing immolate themselves.
i believe cnn reported that security in the area was lessened about a week ago. obama's been talking about pakistan for a while, what reason could he have to get involved now?
I have tons of family in Mumbai. It's absolute madness right now. Absolutely ****ed up situation right now.
