Mumbai Attacks, November 26, 2008

[Aishwarya4eva]

Well, they had someone on the phone about an hour ago and I think it was Deepak Chopra -- from inside the hotel! I'm not sure it was him because I had to leave the room, but there was definitely someone with the same first name calling from inside.

[Darshana]

I read that Deepak C was on a talk show, but I don't think he is in one of the hotels, I think he's invited on to dispense "Indain wisdom" and think he's home in LA.  And I hope so. 

[Aishwarya4eva]

I read that Deepak C was on a talk show, but I don't think he is in one of the hotels, I think he's invited on to dispense "Indian wisdom" and think he's home in LA.  And I hope so. 

Ohhhhh, ok. Well, I was in a hurry when I saw it, but I certainly hope he is safe as well. The images I just saw recently were not pleasant. The sight of that beautiful hotel up in flames is chilling.

[MinaiMinai]

CNN.com says that all the Taj Hotel hostages have been freed and are being evacuated right now.

The live CNN-IBN video says 100 dead, 187 injured.  11 policeman dead.  5 terrorists shot dead, 9 detained. 

I've been reading a lot of comments on the web with people saying that such a "big deal" is being made out of this because foreigners are involved.  But I wonder, isn't having terrorists roaming the streets firing AK-47s new and something that has never happened before?  There has been many bomb blasts and murders in the past, but something like this?

[corbie]

CNN.com says that all the Taj Hotel hostages have been freed and are being evacuated right now.

The live CNN-IBN video says 100 dead, 187 injured.  11 policeman dead.  5 terrorists shot dead, 9 detained. 

I've been reading a lot of comments on the web with people saying that such a "big deal" is being made out of this because foreigners are involved.  But I wonder, isn't having terrorists roaming the streets firing AK-47s new and something that has never happened before?  There has been many bomb blasts and murders in the past, but something like this?

I am still watching on the scene from Mumbai and nobody has been freed. They have about to storm all three places where they are holding hostages. Apparently the hostages are all foreigners.

[corbie]

They just said 100 people were rescued, but not the hostages.

[Aishwarya4eva]

Ha! Yes! They just reported that some hostages HAVE, in fact, been released at this time.

[MinaiMinai]

There seems to be a lot of conflicting reports depending on where I look.  This article has a pretty good rundown covering various sources: 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/26/mumbai.log/index.html

 (CNN) -- Gunmen targeted several areas in the Indian city of Mumbai on Wednesday, taking scores of hostages, killing dozens and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners: The Taj Mahal Hotel and the Oberoi Hotel.

Below is a running list of accounts from news agencies in the area.

The information that follows has not necessarily been confirmed by CNN:

11:30 p.m. ET (10 a.m. IT): A militant in the Oberoi Hotel has told a TV station that he is among seven people holding hostages there, according to the Times of India.

The militant told the TV station that the attackers want India to release all "mujahedins."

"Only after that will we release the people," the militant told the TV station, according to the Times of India.

11:10 p.m. ET (9:40 a.m. IT): Authorities say one arrestee is a member of the group Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

11:05 p.m. ET (9:35 a.m. IT): Besides raiding the Taj Hotel, security forces also have entered the Oberoi Hotel and the Cama Hospital for women and infants, CNN's sister station CNN-IBN reported.

The standoff at Cama Hospital appears to have been resolved; it was not immediately known whether suspects at the hospital fled or were killed, CNN-IBN reported.

11 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. IT): Police have said the death toll in the Mumbai attacks is at 101 -- including six foreigners, the Times of India reports.

Gunfire is heard at the Nariman House in the Colaba area, and police have cordoned off the area amid reports that suspects are in the building, Rediff.com reports.

10:40 p.m. ET (9:10 a.m. IT): People are being evacuated from the Taj Hotel as security forces continue their battle against attackers there, Rediff.com reports. Rediff.com reports a journalist has been injured in the fighting.

10:05 p.m. ET (8:35 a.m. IT): NDTV.com (New Delhi Television Limited) reports the dead include at least 11 policemen, including the head of an anti-terror squad. The site continues to say at least 100 people were killed in attacks on 10 sites in Mumbai, while other outlets, including CNN's sister station CNN-IBN, report lower numbers (87).

Multiple Indian news outlets have quoted witnesses as saying the attackers were looking for American and British nationals at the hotels.

NDTV.com quotes a witness as saying: "Gunmen wanted anyone with British or American passport."

NDTV.com is streaming live video of its coverage.

9:35 p.m. ET (8:05 a.m. IT): Gunshots are fired as military and other security forces move into the Taj hotel, one of two hotels where people are being held hostage, Rediff.com reports. According to Rediff.com, police believe three or four hostage-takers are inside the hotel. Multiple Indian news outlets report at least 100 people are trapped and perhaps being held hostage in the Taj, where fire and smoke could be seen.

International hot lines
Australia: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has set up a hot line for Australians with concerns for family or friends in Mumbai: 1800 002 214
U.S.: The State Department has established a Consular Call Center: 888-407-4747.
UK: Foreign Affairs Ministry: 44 (0) 20 7008 0000

9:20 p.m. ET (7:50 a.m. IT): While multiple outlets have reported that a group called the Deccan Mujahideen have claimed responsibility for the attacks, Rediff.com reports that police and the Intelligence Bureau are not ruling out the involvement by the Indian Mujahideen, an offshoot of the Students Islamic Movement of India.

The Intelligence Bureau said authorities cracked down on the Indian Mujahideen in Mumbai, and that the IM responded by warning it was "just waiting for the right time to execute bloodshed," Rediff.com reported.

9:10 p.m. ET (7:40 a.m. IT): NDTV.com reports at least 100 people were killed in the attacks and that hundreds of hostages still are being held at two hotels, including the Taj hotel. Other outlets report lower death tolls, including CNN's sister station CNN-IBN, which reports 87 dead.

NDTV.com reports five suspects have been killed, three escaped, and nine have been arrested.

[LinKarish]

CNN, which was at first reporting only seven confirmed sites, is now mentioning that ten sites were targeted.  The places and the numbers differ according to the news organization, I guess cause they are waiting to see what can be confirmed.

But though not on the NYT site yet (which says at least eight) CNN is now mentioning what had been mentioned around the Indian sites and channels.  About the Nariman House, a mostly Jewish residential complex.

Then also there are the reports of the Marriot and/or the Ramada which CNN stopped reporting about, but other organizations are including in their lists.

This leads me to

I've been reading a lot of comments on the web with people saying that such a "big deal" is being made out of this because foreigners are involved.  But I wonder, isn't having terrorists roaming the streets firing AK-47s new and something that has never happened before?  There has been many bomb blasts and murders in the past, but something like this?

Yeah. I mean I'm quite sure the specific targeting of Americans factor in to the decision to cover this almost non stop since it broke in the afternoon.  But it's also a whole different dynamic.  Clashes are still going on.  A whole bunch of sites were targeted.  Which by the way, someone on CNN said 12 gunmen in all (their estimate) which would HAVE to be wrong if there are at least 10 sites/instances.  I would guess the hotels themselves would need about two or three people, right?

[LinKarish]

NYT updates at 12:28 a.m. EST.  There are still 40 to 50 hostages in the Taj Hotel.

Also.
Update | 11:11 p.m. The police have requested that reporters and tweeters do not discuss their movements, because they are concerned that the terrorists in the Taj and Oberoi Hotels are watching television to monitor the situation. IBN, an Indian broadcaster, reports that commando operations are taking place, but they cannot show images of the operation.

A Police station was one of the sites attacked as well.

[corbie]

I must go to bed. Need sleep. I can't stop watching. I got the Hindi programming several weeks ago and have been too busy to figure it out. It is sad that this is the first real stuff I have gotten to see.

[gabahd]

I was there last week. :O Makes you think. Reading up so that I understand the situation better...

[shalini]

I was there last week. :O Makes you think.

I'm in Mumbai now - heading back to the US tomorrow.   I'm in complete shock at what's happened/is happening.

There seem to be developments every minute, the latest being a bit of good news - all the hostages at the Taj Hotel have been rescued. 

[gabahd]

My heart goes out to you and hope for the best outcome possible for yourself and all the people affected...

[pahar ka gulab]

You come home safe and sound, Shalini! Please! I'm so glad you were out of danger zone!

[Prem Rogue]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752057.stm

Jewish centre seized in Mumbai

Police have surrounded a Jewish centre in Mumbai where a rabbi, his wife and a number of others are thought to have been taken hostage.

A series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city, which began late on Wednesday, have left 101 people dead.

The centre is the base for the Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch.

The Reuters news agency says that four gunmen remain in the building. There have been reports of gunfire.

The house, which acts as a centre for prayer and study, attracts many Jewish and Israeli visitors every year.

A spokesman for the Lubavitch movement in New York, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, said he did not know the status of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holzberg, who is being held hostage in the centre.

Rabbi Shmotkin told the Associated Press: "It seems that the terrorists commandeered a police vehicle which allowed them easy access to the area of Chabad House and threw a grenade at a gas pump nearby."

A near-by resident, Sanjay Bhasme, said he telephoned police after shooting began at around 9:45pm local time, but no police arrived for more than 30 minutes.

Chabad House is situated in the Nariman business and residential complex in south Mumbai.

[emel3]

Just received this email from World ORT  (I volunteer for them)-- a Jewish Organization that has a branch in Mumbai:

The Islamist terror attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai is a watershed with potentially serious ramifications for ORT and the rest of the Jewish community in the city, according to Indian Jewish Federation Chairman Jonathan Solomon, who was chairman of ORT India between 1986 and 2000.

 
The assault on the Chabad House and the taking of its rabbi and his wife hostage has been a lightly reported aspect of this week’s attack on Westerners, hotels and transport hubs in India’s commercial capital that has left more than 100 dead.

 But Mr Solomon confirmed that this was the first time that terrorists – who have staged several spectacular and deadly operations in Mumbai in recent years – have targeted the tiny Jewish minority, leaving it with a greater sense of vulnerability.

“We have been worried about this happening for a long time. Now it’s happened,” Mr Solomon said. “The Jewish community has been deliberately keeping as low a profile as possible because we are so few. But now our worst fears have come true.”

Sharon Galsurkar, the Head of ORT India’s Jewish Education Resource Centre, which conducts Hebrew-language training programmes, agreed that the Jewish community now had a heightened sense of insecurity.

 “The threat always existed because we knew that there were elements here that could be dangerous. But [the Jewish community] has never had an attack like this; Bombay has never had an attack like this,” Mr Galsurkar said. “We have to be extra careful now – all the organisations, all the synagogues will have to improve security.”

 The horror of the days’ events came close to Mr Galsurkar, who is a close friend of the Chabad rabbi, Gavriel Holtzberg. At time of writing, Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, were being held hostage while their building was surrounded by Indian commandoes.

 “When I heard what was happening I went to the Chabad House with a friend,” Mr Galsurkar said. “While I was there, their one-year-old son Moshe came out with the nanny, a male servant and an elderly Jewish woman. I don’t know if they were released or had escaped. My friend took the nanny and Moshe to the ORT boys’ hostel, where I live, on his bike because there were taxis. Later they were called back to the police station to give their statements again. Because of my familiarity with Chabad House I was able to help the security forces understand the layout of the building.”

Mr Galsurkar confirmed that Moshe Holtzberg’s clothes were stained with blood which was not his own.

“He was tired and hungry but too young to understand what was going on,” he said. “We should all be praying for the family. It is sad to have a friend in a situation like this but I am happy that so many people from around the world are calling and showing interest. It shows that Jews really do care for Jews.”

 Mr Solomon said that relations with India’s Muslim communities were traditionally cordial. He feared that this week’s atrocity marked the importation of an anti-Jewish ideology that may pave the way for further attacks by foreign terrorists or poison the minds of some local Muslims.

 Now foreign terrorists are coming in and targeting Jews has become a real possibility,” he said. “We have got a lot of local support but we’re an easy target for extremist groups. I don’t see any easy option or solution except for supporting each other.”

 The main ORT India centre was in a relatively safe part of Mumbai, he said. But its male dormitory, which is being refurbished to house Bnei Menashe from north-east India while they undergo ORT pre-aliyah training programmes, is situated in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood close to the Magen David Synagogue.

But Mr Solomon said that seeking funds to pay for extra security for ORT and other Jewish communal buildings could not provide the safe environment that had prevailed before this week.

 “We will have to impress on the political and police authorities to protect Jewish institutions and not to ignore them because we’re such a small minority,” he said. “It will be much more helpful if everyone knows that the police and the authorities are closely monitoring our institutions than having a guard on the door. What could a guard do against people like this?”

 


 

[Andromache]

Stay safe, Shalini!

I was in Bombay a couple months ago and, while I stayed most of the time in a non-touristy area of the city, I would occasionally visit these sites on my weekends. At the moment I'm reading up on what's going on currently, because I keep hearing conflicting reports...

[blue]

This is just too much. My prayers are with all the victims, hostages and all Mumbai residents.

[wannabe]

Names of those injured and killed in the attack:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p_esnE-3Z3p-HehX1YOZIaw

[JenniferJanu]

If you look at the list of names of those injured or killed, so many of them are Muslims. Why do these Muslim militants target their own people? What are they gaining by THAT? These attacks themselves make no sense whatsoever, but when you add to it the fact that they've purposely killed or caused injury to some of their own it's even more perplexing. 


Also, is there a list available that includes the hometowns and countries of the injured and killed? (I'm wondering if there are any people who currently live in Chicago on that list).

[wannabe]

This was posted by one of the commenters at Sepia Mutiny:

Interview with one of the terrorists in Nariman House -- The terrorist is speaking with a clear pakistani punjabi accent. (links from the BR forums) Hear it for yourselves

Part 1
http://ishare.rediff.com/filevideo-Terrorist-calling-himself-Sahadullah-spe-id-519886.php

Part 2
http://ishare.rediff.com/filevideo-2nd-Terrorist-speaks-from-Nariman-house-id-519881.php

I haven't listened to the whole thing myself yet.  But either in this interview of another interview with another of the terrorists, apparently the terrorist, when asked what this group "Deccan Mujhahadeen" stands for, first said that he was not from south India at all, and second said he didn't know what the group's demands were.    Then apparently he asked the reporter to hold on, and asked one of his cohorts what they were demanding, and, after some discussion between them, came back and said that they want the release of all mujahadeen in Indian prisons, and an end to the oppression of all Muslims.

[wannabe]

If you look at the list of names of those injured or killed, so many of them are Muslims. Why do these Muslim militants target their own people? What are they gaining by THAT? These attacks themselves make no sense whatsoever, but when you add to it the fact that they've purposely killed or caused injury to some of their own it's even more perplexing. 


Also, is there a list available that includes the hometowns and countries of the injured and killed? (I'm wondering if there are any people who currently live in Chicago on that list).

I don't think the terrorists were targeting Muslims specfically (unlike the attacks against mosques). It's just that the Muslim and non-Muslim population in India is so interwoven that any time an attack happens in a public place, both sets of people will be victims.

As to why they target mosques, the theory is that it is to make the Indian Muslims believe that they are being attacked by the Hindus, and thus induce religious strife and mistrust between the two groups.

I was really upset by the number of children on that list -- including one four month old baby.   

[etu]

Just veering back into consciousness after a 48-hour flu. A friend tweeted this link on NDTV with delayed video showing commandos landing on Nariman House.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/video/video_live.aspx?id=0

[wannabe]

Good compilation of essays, opinion pieces, analyses, from Indian sources, here:

http://www.sajaforum.org/mumbai-attacks/

Here's a good analysis from outside of India:

Analysis: Homegrown terror or international jihad?
By BENEDETTA BERTI, SPECIAL TO THE JERUSALEM POST

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702352525&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull