Mumbai India Terrorist Attacks

[buttmint]

...Brits and Americans targeted.

The whole city in lockdown.....

 

live hostage situtation ongoing....

yes, hospital is targeted and is site of hostage stand-off

 

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=m...q=Mumbai+terror

[buttmint]

Landmark Taj hotel Targeted Bombed and burning...

 

not a remote control... stand-off type attack.....

terrorists entered the Taj and requested Brit and American passports matched to the

passport holders...then gunned them down!

 

Sporadic gunfire ongoing in Mumbai....a city of 19 million (formerly Bombay).....

[buttmint]

here is cut and pasted overview from Radio Australia...click the Google link for more info:

 

 

 

 

Scores killed in Mumbai terrorist attacks

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Updated November 27, 2008 08:00:01

 

 

A policeman stands guard after shootings by unidentified gunmem at a train station in Mumbai. [Reuters]

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Police in India's financial capital Mumbai say up to 80 people may have been killed and over 200 wounded in a series of attacks around the main railway station and two five-star hotels.

 

Maharahstra state police chief, A.N. Roy, says unknown terrorists fired automatic rifles and threw hand grenades weapons indiscriminately, adding that they are still in several places.

 

Two of the attackers were shot dead on the beach front and there are unconfirmed reports gunmen may have taken hostages.

 

Several people were shot dead in the luxury Taj Mahal hotel in the Colaba district, and the lobby of another five-star hotel nearby, the Oberoi, was also hit.

 

Gunmen opened fire at several locations in Mumbai's popular tourist district.

 

One of the men armed with an assault rifle stormed the lobby of the Taj Palace hotel.

 

Several people were shot and killed in a similar attack at Mumbai's central railway station and at a restaurant popular with tourists.

 

There were also shots fired and reports of blasts at the Oberoi hotel.

 

Smoke has been seen rising from the building and police have surrounded the area, saying the gunmen appear to be inside.

 

The wounded have been taken to local hospitals.

[buttmint]

More in-depth article from AP press, yahoo.com:

 

 

Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer Ramola Talwar Badam, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins ago Play Video AP – Gunmen kill scores in India, hostages in hotels

Slideshow: Mumbai Terror Attacks Play Video Video: Ex-head of police on Mumbai attack BBC Play Video Video: Multiple attacks kill scores in Mumbai Reuters Related PhotosFlickr Submit a Photo » MUMBAI, India – Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital Wednesday night, killing at least 78 people and taking Westerners hostage, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

 

Parts of the city remained under siege as dawn approached Thursday, with police and gunmen exchanging occasional gunfire at two hotels and an unknown number of people still held hostage, said A.N. Roy, a top police official.

 

A raging fire and explosions struck the landmark Taj Mahal hotel shortly after midnight. Screams could be heard and black smoke billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from windows and balconies with extension ladders.

 

The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans, witnesses said. Officials said at least 200 people were wounded.

 

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.

 

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

 

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 the claim.

 

Police reported hostages being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the best-known upscale destinations in this crowded but wealthy city.

 

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 seven to 15 foreigners were hostages at the Taj Mahal, but it was not immediately clear if hostages at the Oberoi were Indians or foreigners, 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, which was in flames, and a modern tower that was not on fire.

 

State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said U.S. officials were not aware of any American casualties, but were still checking. He said he could not address reports that Westerners might be among the hostages.

 

"The United States condemns this terrorist attack and we will continue to stand with the people of India in this time of tragedy," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "President Bush offers his condolences to the Indian people and the families of the innocent civilians killed and injured in the attacks."

 

Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said 78 people had been killed and 200 had been wounded.

 

Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans were admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshot wounds. All were brought in 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 Roy, the senior police official.

 

Blood smeared the floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal. Press Trust of India quoted the chief of the Mumbai railway police, A.K. Sharma, as saying several men armed with rifles and grenades were holed up at the station.

 

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 were blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.

 

Officials also reported that terrorists attacked the city's Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital, but it was not immediately clear if anyone was killed in those places.

 

A British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi hotel told Sky News television that the gunmen who struck there singled out Britons and Americans.

 

Alex Chamberlain said a gunman, a young man of 22 or 23, ushered 30 or 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands. He said the gunman spoke in Hindi or Urdu.

 

"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.

 

Early Thursday, several European lawmakers were among people 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.

 

The British Foreign Office said it was advising all British citizens in Mumbai to stay indoors.

 

Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, strongly condemned the attacks. "Today's attacks in Mumbai which have claimed many innocent victims remind us, yet again, of the threat we face from violent extremists," Miliband said in a statement.

 

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 a series of explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in the capital, New Delhi, killing 21 people and wounding about 100.

 

Mumbai has been hit repeatedly by terror attacks since March 1993, when Muslim underworld figures tied to Pakistani militants allegedly carried out a series of bombings on Mumbai's stock exchange, trains, hotels and gas stations. Authorities say those attacks, which killed 257 people and wounded more than 1,100, were carried out to avenge the deaths of hundreds of Muslims in religious riots that had swept India.

 

Ten years later, in 2003, 52 people were killed in Mumbai bombings blamed on Muslim militants and in 2006 a series of seven blasts on railway trains and at commuter rail stations killed at least 187.

 

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.

[jocky king]

I'm sick of Terrorist attack on innocent People..... They have no balls to face up to the armed forces, I have seen enough violence in N Ireland... I,m happy there is peace among the people out there now... The news of 87 people dead today is very horrify.. Their families will be badly affected.. Multiply ten in a family to 87 is 870 family members will be terrilby affected... RIP to the people who died today and Bring the responsible to justice....

[jocky king]

Now 101 people killed , by terrorist linked to Al Qaeda.... They say India was easy target with American and British tourist based there... They couldn't do a mission in USA and UK becuase of high security alert since 9/11.. I wonder, will Thailand be a easy target for them too? Let hope not... Take care guys.....

[Scumbag]

The World is going nuts I think.

 

I have moved this from Barstool Banter to the News Forum for obvious reasons.

[sawow]

Now 101 people killed , by terrorist linked to Al Qaeda.... They say India was easy target with American and British tourist based there... They couldn't do a mission in USA and UK becuase of high security alert since 9/11.. I wonder, will Thailand be a easy target for them too? Let hope not... Take care guys.....

 

Hmmm...based on my experiences in the ME, and looking at history, Bali, London etc..where exactly is safe? All will say Thailand is "safe". But that's exactly what Balinese and Londoners thought before the urban BANG!

 

I also hope not here, but it is a target rich environment with an iron clad "cover of PAD to blame for a mass bombing. IF I were a terrorscum, I would be hedging my bets and hit here, and hit BIG!!!

 

 

I hope I am wrong. Islamic extremist terrorist SCUM. May they all burn in hell.

[sonic692]

Fuck that for a game of soldiers!

[arseneltic]

I know that there are many decent moslem people living their lives peacefully and raising their family's decently.What I would like to see is these people come out and protest about this attrocity and others before.We all know how good they are at protesting about any perceived slight against their religion the Danish cartoons being a case in point.Somehow I don't think the murder of these innocent people will cause much outrage though in the moslem world.

[arseneltic]

It's not Islamophopia when they really are trying to kill you.