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Deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India




A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2008. Cama Hospital in south Mumbai was also a terrorist target in Wednesday's attacks.


Plumes of smoke rise above the Taj Hotel.


At least 78 have been killed in the brutal attacks in Mumbai, India, the rich island city known as the New York of India.


The armed assailants opened fired at random in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in southern Mumbai. A.N Roy, police commissioner of Maharashtra state, said the terrorists had used automatic weapons and lobbed grenades in some places.


In addition to the crowded train station, gunmen targeted two five-star hotels, including the landmark Taj Hotel, above, and Leopold's restaurant, a tourist attraction.


India's financial capital became a scene of panic as people fled to escape the destruction and mayhem. Above, people seek cover at the front of a hotel in Mumbai.


India media reported two gunmen had taken a position on an abandoned train at platform 7 of the train station and were in a pitched gun battle with police commandos.


TV grab from Indian TV via Sky News shows an armed man suspected to be one of the assailants, according to Sky News. The terrorists reportedly were holding 40 people hostage in the Taj Mahal hotel..


A policeman stands guard after shootings by the assailants at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station.


Mumbai police stand guard outside the rail station.


A man injured in firing supports himself on a railing.


Hundreds watch the police survey the destruction at the site of an explosion.


A man shows the wounds of another man who was injured in a gunbattle at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.


People grieve during the devastating attacks in Mumbai..

Source : nydailynews



Obama's Mumbai Statement On Terrorist Attacks

President-elect Obama has released a statement on the Mumbai terror attacks:
"President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India. These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks," said Brooke Anderson, Chief National Security Spokesperson



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MUMBAI: Terror struck the country's financial capital late on Wednesday night as coordinate serial explosions and indiscriminate firing rocked eight areas across Mumbai including the crowded CST railway station, two five star hotels--Oberoi and Taj-- leaving 16 persons dead and 50 injured.

Armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, a couple of terrorists entered the passenger hall of CST and opened fire and threw grenades, Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma said.

The terror strike which began at 10:33 PM at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Terminus(CST) , formerly known as the Victoria Terminus(VT) , claimed 10 lives in the premises of the station alone, police said.

Three persons were killed in a bomb explosion in a taxi on Mazegaon dockyard road and an equal number were gunned down at Taj Hotel. The victims in the hotel were its employees.

The lobby of the Oberoi hotel was on fire and the hotel evacuated, eyewitnesses said.

Maharashtra DGP A N Roy said tonight's attack in "at least seven places" is a "terror strike."

Sharma said 30 persons were injured in the CST incident. Commandoes were rushed to the CST which wore a deserted look and train services suspended.

Some people were injured in the firing in Oberoi hotel, and taken to a nearby hospital in police vans and ambulance. Firing was also reported in Taj hotel.

Firing was reported at Colaba, Nariman Point and near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, formerly Victoria Terminus and it was still continuing.

Firing was also reported at Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, police said, adding that a blast was reported in a taxi under a flyover in suburban Vile Parle. A bomb went off in a taxi in Mazegaon dockyard road.

SRPF personnel then entered the iconic BMC building -- just opposite CST -- to take aim at the assailants, BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak said. "We fear some of the assailants are still inside the station and we want to catch them if they come out," a police official said.

Vikhroli police station senior inspector Habib Ansari was on his way to work from his Colaba home when he saw two armed men, with sophisticated weaponry, trying to run into bylanes near the Gateway of India.

"I rushed back to Colaba and all policemen, including GRP and RPF personnel, were called up," he added.

Bhisham Mansukhani, a journalist, was attending a wedding reception at the Taj's Crystal Room. "I was inside the bar when glass shards almost hit my eye," he said. "More than 200 people were escorted inside Chambers, a business centre inside the hotel," he added.

Source: Times Of India