News & Politics - 101 killed in gun rampage in India

Lain · 11-27-2008, 12:02 AM

Surprised no one reported this but all I can say is wow. And not in a good way.

Quote:

101 killed as gunmen rampage in India city
By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer Ramola Talwar Badam, Associated Press Writer 7 mins ago

MUMBAI, India – Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish group's headquarters in India's financial capital, killing at least 101 people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped inside the besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry said 101 people were killed and 287 injured.

Officials said eight militants had also been killed in the coordinated attacks on at least 10 sites that began around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Gunmen also seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, the New York-based group said. Indian commandos surrounded the building Thursday morning and media reports said gunfire was heard from the building.

Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around Mumbai's landmark Taj Mahal hotel, and black-clad commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area, apparently the beginning of an assault on gunmen who had taken hostages in the hotel.

Soldiers outside the hotel said forces were moving slowly, from room to room, looking for gunmen and traps.

A series of explosions had rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke and flames billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning.

At the nearby upscale Oberoi hotel, soldiers could be seen on the roof of neighboring buildings. A banner hung out of one window read "save us." No one could be seen inside the room from the road.

Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshots. All had come from the Taj Mahal, the officials said.

At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said and A.N. Roy, a top police official.

The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans at the hotels and restaurant, witnesses said.

Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands.

"They were talking about British and Americans specifically. There was an Italian guy, who, you know, they said: 'Where are you from?" and he said he's from Italy and they said 'fine' and they left him alone. And I thought: 'Fine, they're going to shoot me if they ask me anything — and thank God they didn't," he said.

Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.

The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.

Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. The Taj Mahal hotel, filled with Oriental carpets, Indian artifacts and alabaster ceilings, overlooks the fabled Gateway of India that commemorated the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.

A spokesman for the Lubavitch movement in New York, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, said attackers "stormed the Chabad house" in Mumbai.

"It seems that the terrorists commandeered a police vehicle which allowed them easy access to the area of the Chabad house and threw a grenade at a gas pump nearby," he said, citing a variety of sources.

He said he did not know the status of occupants of the house, which serves as an educational center and a synagogue.

Early Thursday, state home secretary Bipin Shrimali said four suspects had been killed in two incidents in Mumbai when they tried to flee in cars, and Roy said four more gunmen were killed at the Taj Mahal. State Home Minister R.R. Patil said nine more were arrested. They declined to provide any further details.

"We're going to catch them dead or alive," Patil told reporters. "An attack on Mumbai is an attack on the rest of the country."

An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim.

The state government ordered schools and colleges and the Bombay Stock Exchange closed Thursday.

Police reported hostages being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the best-known upscale destinations.

Gunmen who burst into the Taj "were targeting foreigners. They kept shouting: `Who has U.S. or U.K. passports?'" said Ashok Patel, a British citizen who fled from the hotel.

Authorities believed up to 15 foreigners were hostages at the Taj Mahal hotel, said Anees Ahmed, a top state official.

It was also unclear where the hostages were in the Taj Mahal, which is divided into an older wing that was in flames, and a more modern tower.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said U.S. officials were not aware of any American casualties, but were still checking.

"We condemn these attacks and the loss of innocent life," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

Blood smeared the grounds of the 19th century Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station — a beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture — where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal.

Nasim Inam's hands shook when he spoke of seeing four attackers gunning down commuters as they walked to catch late trains home.

"They wore black T-shirts and blue jeans. They were carrying big guns," said Inam. "They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground."

Other gunmen attacked Leopold's restaurant, a landmark popular with foreigners, and the police headquarters in southern Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks took place. The restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there was blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers. Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital, though it was not immediately clear if anyone was killed.

Early Thursday, several European lawmakers were among those who barricaded themselves inside the Taj, a century-old seaside hotel complex and one of the city's best-known destinations.

"I was in the main lobby and there was all of a sudden a lot of firing outside," said Sajjad Karim, part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a European Union-India summit.

As he turned to get away, "all of a sudden another gunmen appeared in front of us, carrying machine gun-type weapons. And he just started firing at us ... I just turned and ran in the opposite direction," he told The Associated Press over his mobile phone.

Hours later, Karim remained holed up in a hotel restaurant, unsure if it was safe to come out.

India has been wracked by bomb attacks the past three years, which police blame on Muslim militants intent on destabilizing this largely Hindu country. Nearly 700 people have died.

Since May a militant group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen has taken credit for a string of blasts that killed more than 130 people. The most recent was in September, when explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in the capital, New Delhi, killing 21 people and wounding about 100.

Relations between Hindus, who make up more than 80 percent of India's 1 billion population, and Muslims, who make up about 14 percent, have sporadically erupted into bouts of sectarian violence since British-ruled India was split into independent India and Pakistan in 1947.

Source: Link

welshgirlyUK · 11-27-2008, 01:34 AM

I cant believe this hasn't been mentioned earlier. I've been watching it on BBCnews 24 all night. All you can really get is that there targeting British and American people. The pictures on the guardian and Times newspapers are horrific. They cant even make out whose held hostage and who is trapped in their rooms.

The BBC have been talking to British people who are trapped and whilst they all sound calm, i'm worried for them. It must be such a terrifying experience.

balle · 11-27-2008, 03:02 AM

This is a truly horrid terror attack on India. As an Indo-American, it deeply saddens me that such heinous acts have occurred yet again in India, only 2 months after the terror attacks in New Delhi. The fact that they targeted the tourist areas and hotels disgusts me to no end.

I remember whenever I visited Mumbai, my family and I would stay at the Taj and Oberoi hotels and now they are completely under siege. Terrible, terrible news.

Here is an update on the hostage and general situation in Mumbai...

From the Hindustantimes.com

Quote:

Security forces have secured the Taj hotel in Mumbai one of the three sites where they launched operations to flush out terrorists. The other two -- Trident Hotel and Nariman house are still under siege. About 100 people are still trapped in three buildings due to the strike carried out by the terrorists last night. The terror attack in the financial capital has claimed over 100 lives and left more than 300 injured.

Among those trapped in Taj were four MPs including Bhupendrasinh Solanki (BJP), N.Krishnadas (CPI-M) and Mani Tripathi (BSP) who were later rescued.

Latest reports indicate that terrorists, about 10-12 in number in Taj alone, have made some ransom demands but Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil said the authorities have't recieved any demands yet.

He said five of the dozen terrorists in Taj have been killed while one has been captured and was being interrogated. Claiming to have some "vital leads", the minister expressed confidence of breakthrough soon.

As the day broke gun battles raged between terrorists and commandoes and fresh explosions rocked the two hotels after the night of terror targeting ten places. Reports suggest the terrorists came in a boat upto the Gateway of India, opposite Taj hotel.

One terrorist was shot dead in Nariman House, police said suspecting the presence of six more in the complex. Heavy exchange of fire was on between the two sides a little past noon.

An unspecified number of foreigners including Americans, Israelis and Canadians are believed to be among those in the two hotels and in Nariman House, a residential complex with an old Jewish Synagogue.

There were unconfirmed reports of a hostage-like situation in Cama hospital from where two terrorists in the wee hours tried to escape but were gunned down after a hot chase by the police near the Chowpatty-Girgaum crossing.

Earlier sharp shooters of army, NSG and other security forces moved into Mumbai's landmark hotels to overwhelm an unspecified number of terrorists still holed out there after several residents were rescued in the wee hours. About 800 personnel from armed forces and NSG were deployed from outside Mumbai and from Delhi.

Raging fire and plumes of black smoke were seen billowing from the central dome of the century-old heritage Taj hotel opposite the Gateway of India this morning as firemen struggled to douse them. A guest stranded in one of the rooms said two explosions shook the building.

Trident was under siege with terrorists holding some foreigners hostage. A tourist guide was worried about the fate of five Canadians he had put up in that hotel. Earlier in the night, explosions were heard in the hotel.

As last night's terror incidents spread a sense of panic and fear in the metropolis, schools and colleges were ordered closed and the Bombay Stock Exchange did not function today.

Suburban trains and city buses operated normally but without usual rush. Except for cancellation of three international flights, domestic air services to Mumbai were maintained.

welshgirlyUK · 11-27-2008, 03:22 AM

BBC news are saying there are British and Australians amongst the dead. Here are some eye witness accounts from the BBC website.

Quote:

Andreas Liveras visited the Taj Palace Hotel for a curry on Wednesday evening, having heard that the hotel served the best food in Mumbai. But he quickly became caught up in the violence.

"I think it's got the best restaurant here. But as soon as we sat at the table we heard the machine gun fire outside in the corridor," he told BBC News.

"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.

Quote:

Alex Chamberlain, a British man in Mumbai on business, said he had escaped from the Oberoi hotel which was on fire.

He told the British television broadcaster, Sky, that when he was in the hotel a gunman ordered people 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'.

"I am sure that is what this is all about. They were talking about British and Americans specifically."

Quote:

Alan Jones was in Mumbai on business, and was at the Trident Hotel, which adjoins the Oberoi Hotel, with a colleague when the attacks happened.

"We took the lift to the lobby and heard bangs as the door opened. A Japanese man, one of four men in the lift, was shot and wounded at that precise moment," he told BBC News.

"I frantically pressed the "close door" button but had to move the shot man's foot for the doors to close.

Source

Leona1986 · 11-27-2008, 04:49 AM

I just have no words at this attack-- I'm soooo saddened by it.

khali · 11-27-2008, 10:33 AM

looks like some Indian police elements had provided logistic supports to the terrorists..

India is among the most corrupted countries in the world..with one hundred bucks you can take the police commander there himself to your bedroom if you wish..

khali · 11-27-2008, 10:36 AM

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khali · 11-27-2008, 10:41 AM

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**Cristofle** · 11-27-2008, 05:48 PM

This is just awful. My heart goes out to everyone in Mumbai, or who has loved ones there- my thoughts are with them.

**TheAngel** · 11-27-2008, 06:13 PM

I feel so sorry for everyone there and really hope that everything gets better there soon, that the hostages are released. My thoughts are with those who are there and those who have loved ones in Mumbai.

-Kelly- · 11-28-2008, 06:04 AM

It's so awful for everyone

And 2 Australians dead, 36 Australians are missing

Bella Grint · 11-28-2008, 12:17 PM

This is horrible

isn't the death toll now more than 125?

welshgirlyUK · 11-28-2008, 12:37 PM

More than 150 people have been killed i think now and probably bound to rise with them amount severely injured. This has been so tradgic and horrific. I really didn't think it was gonna go on this long. I really dont think it's the last we've seen of these types of attacks either, as much as i hate to say it.

SMG_fan · 11-29-2008, 06:35 AM

Nothing good ever happens any more. The world is a horrible horrible place at the moment.

Belinda

stumps101 · 11-29-2008, 03:01 PM

Everything to do with this attack is just awful and heartbreaking


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