Indian commandos free 200 after attacks
Saturday, 29 November 2008
MUMBAI, Nov 28 (Agencies): More than 200 people were freed from Mumbai's Oberoi-Trident hotel complex as Indian commandos attempted to root out as many as six terrorists still in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, police said. An operation to secure hostages held in a Jewish centre was in its final stage, Police Chief Hassan Ghafoor said.
Attacks on two hotel complexes and several other locations in India's commercial center late Nov. 26 left 124 people, including 15 policemen, dead and 370 injured in 36 hours of fighting. Nine terrorists were killed and one, a Pakistani, was arrested, said R.R. Patil, deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra. The attackers arrived in Mumbai by sea, Patil told reporters.
"We are in the final stages of operations," Army Lieutenant General N. Thamburaj told reporters. Thirty bodies were recovered from a hall in the Taj. Bodies and blood were everywhere in the hotel, Navy commandos said.
Eight foreigners were among those killed in the coordinated shootings and explosions across India's financial hub two days ago for which a little-known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility, M.L. Kumawat, a Home Ministry official, said. The targeting of Westerners marks a shift in tactics for Islamic militants in India as they strike the international links that have helped the country's economy grow at 9 per cent or more for each of the past three years. Elements in Pakistan are responsible for the attacks, PTI cited External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as saying.
Earlier, the Indian navy took control of two Pakistani merchant navy ships and has been questioning their crews after witnesses said some of the militants came ashore on small speedboats.
Earlier, the army said at least one gunman with "two or more hostages" remained in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
More than 100 commandos have gone into the Taj Mahal and gunfire and explosions continue to be heard, say BBC correspondents outside the hotel.
Indian commandos who managed to enter other parts of the Taj Mahal say they found at least 30 bodies in one hall. It is not clear if that number is included in the overall death toll.
The commandos also said the militants were well aware of the layout of the hotel, and that they had recovered a Mauritius identity card as well as guns and money.
The relief of the guests at the Oberoi-Trident was evident as at least 93 of them were escorted from the hotel Friday morning following a 36-hour siege. They included 20 Air France crew members.
One of those freed, Briton Mark Abell, spoke of his delight at seeing several heavily armed soldiers at his hotel door after spending so long inside his room.
But he was shocked by the state of the hotel after the 36-hour siege. "The lobby was carnage, blood and guts everywhere. It was very upsetting," he told the BBC.
At first light, helicopters swooped over the Nariman House business and residential complex in south Mumbai, which houses the Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch.
Commandos initially dropped smoke bombs to create confusion, and then several troops abseiled down ropes to secure the roof.
Attacks on two hotel complexes and several other locations in India's commercial center late Nov. 26 left 124 people, including 15 policemen, dead and 370 injured in 36 hours of fighting. Nine terrorists were killed and one, a Pakistani, was arrested, said R.R. Patil, deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra. The attackers arrived in Mumbai by sea, Patil told reporters.
"We are in the final stages of operations," Army Lieutenant General N. Thamburaj told reporters. Thirty bodies were recovered from a hall in the Taj. Bodies and blood were everywhere in the hotel, Navy commandos said.
Eight foreigners were among those killed in the coordinated shootings and explosions across India's financial hub two days ago for which a little-known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility, M.L. Kumawat, a Home Ministry official, said. The targeting of Westerners marks a shift in tactics for Islamic militants in India as they strike the international links that have helped the country's economy grow at 9 per cent or more for each of the past three years. Elements in Pakistan are responsible for the attacks, PTI cited External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as saying.
Earlier, the Indian navy took control of two Pakistani merchant navy ships and has been questioning their crews after witnesses said some of the militants came ashore on small speedboats.
Earlier, the army said at least one gunman with "two or more hostages" remained in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
More than 100 commandos have gone into the Taj Mahal and gunfire and explosions continue to be heard, say BBC correspondents outside the hotel.
Indian commandos who managed to enter other parts of the Taj Mahal say they found at least 30 bodies in one hall. It is not clear if that number is included in the overall death toll.
The commandos also said the militants were well aware of the layout of the hotel, and that they had recovered a Mauritius identity card as well as guns and money.
The relief of the guests at the Oberoi-Trident was evident as at least 93 of them were escorted from the hotel Friday morning following a 36-hour siege. They included 20 Air France crew members.
One of those freed, Briton Mark Abell, spoke of his delight at seeing several heavily armed soldiers at his hotel door after spending so long inside his room.
But he was shocked by the state of the hotel after the 36-hour siege. "The lobby was carnage, blood and guts everywhere. It was very upsetting," he told the BBC.
At first light, helicopters swooped over the Nariman House business and residential complex in south Mumbai, which houses the Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch.
Commandos initially dropped smoke bombs to create confusion, and then several troops abseiled down ropes to secure the roof.