Scores killed in Mumbai rampage

[GrnMarvl14]

Source.

In a brazen series of coordinated attacks, gunmen struck 10 sites Wednesday night across India's financial hub, killing scores of people and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners, officials said.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa put the death toll at 87 and another 185 wounded, with nine of the attackers killed.

More than six hours after the attacks, fighting was still reported in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Hotel Oberoi and Colaba Market, site of a number of restaurants, he said.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, told reporters that a total of 10 locations were attacked, including a railroad station.

A Mumbai police spokesman, Satish Katsa, said gunmen took over the Taj Mahal Hotel and Hotel Oberoi, and were holding guests hostage on multiple floors.

After the attacks, about 100 members of the Rapid Action Force entered the Oberoi. Shortly thereafter, the sound of gunshots came from inside the building.

British businessman Alan Jones told CNN.com how he was about to get out of an elevator in the Oberoi when another guest was shot.

"A bullet hit one of the Japanese men in the back of the leg. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere."

Another hostage situation was occurring at Cama Hospital for women and children, CNN sister station CNN-IBN reported.

Bhushan Gagrani, a spokesman for Maharashtra, said no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

But several Indian news outlets reported receiving e-mails from a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen that took responsibility for the attacks. CNN was not able to verify the reports.

Gagrani said nine suspects were arrested and three people were detained for questioning.

CNN-IBN reported that Hemant Karkare, chief of Mumbai police's anti-terrorism squad, was among the fatalities at the Hotel Oberoi.

In addition, 11 other police were killed, Deshmukh said. He said the number of attackers was not known.

About five hours after the attack, smoke began billowing from the roof of the Taj Mahal and flames quickly spread through the top floors of the 105-year-old building, though firefighters said they expected to be able to douse the blaze. Guests -- many of them foreign nationals -- emerged from the hotel.

The landmark hotel advertises 565 rooms, including 46 suites. Gunfire could be heard coming from inside the building and at least 50 guests were rescued from the hotel.

Andrew Stevens, a CNN anchor who was staying at the Taj Mahal with a CNN crew, estimated that about half the hotel's guests were Westerners.

He said that at shortly after 10 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT) he was outside the Oberoi, about five minutes away from the Taj, when he saw guests streaming from the lobby into the street in apparent panic.

A witness told local television that he was in the Oberoi around 10 p.m. when gunmen entered the lobby and began rounding up guests, asking for anyone with a U.S. or British passport and taking hostage about 15 of them.

Earlier, A.N. Roy, the police chief of Maharashtra state, said his force was involved with suspected militants at the two hotels.

The Cafe Leopold, another popular hangout for Western tourists, was also targeted, and one police official said an attack occurred at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.

The attacks included five shootouts and two grenade attacks, said another police spokesman, who answered Mumbai's police control room line.

CNN-IBN reported the attacks began about 10 p.m. Wednesday and witnesses were reporting new explosions and gunfire into early Thursday morning.

Roy said the gunmen used grenades and automatic weapons. He could not provide casualty numbers.

India has suffered a number of attacks in recent years, including a string of bombs that ripped through packed Mumbai commuter trains and platforms during rush hour in July 2006. About 209 people were killed in that attack.

Last July, a series of synchronized bomb blasts in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad left 49 dead and more than 100 wounded, police said.

But Paresh Parihar, a businessman in Mumbai, described Wednesday's attacks as unlike anything he had seen.

"They really don't fear for their lives or any other activity that could put them in danger," he told CNN. "This is really a very unusual situation."

Mumbai ordered schools to be closed Thursday.

I don't think "wow" is a big enough word.

 

[Lilac Hill]

Death toll past 100, injury toll over 900.

One of the worst terrorist attacks I've seen for a while.

Terrible. Absolutely terrible.

 

[Ben Cousins]

Dunno why this story seems so unpopular here, this is huge news. Things like this have the potential to start World War III.

Terrible tragedy, sorry to hear about so many victims, and that the attackers were children.

 

[Girafarig_Magcargo]

My condolences to all the victims and their family, and I hope that India can quickly determine who's responsible and how to respond. Looks like President-elect Obama will have quite a full plate when he gets inaugurated on both the foreign and domestic theaters.

 

[Ben Cousins]

Obama has nothing to do with this. If America gets involved it could piss off major groups and could hasten a possible Obama assasination attempt.

 

[Girafarig_Magcargo]

Damn, terrorists were just intercepted speaking Punjabi, indicating that at least some of them are linked within Pakistan.

Obama does have to do with this, firstly because as President of the US he has to say something (which he has now), and once he gets the position he has to deal with the possible Indian response against Pakistan.

 

[Snake Bandage]

No, he doesn't have to get involved. Keep to your own business for once, America.

 

[JB88]

I sort of wish America got involved though. An alliance with Pakistan is not the way to go. We should not trust them with their dealings with the Afghans.

It angers me that these terrorists in India are still roaming free, most of them having allegiance to Pakistan. Unfortunate that no one, I repeat, no one saw this coming.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

No, he doesn't have to get involved. Keep to your own business for once, America.

Since some of the people taken hostage were Americans, it sort of becomes American business. We certainly shouldn't try to take control of things, but we should be allowed a voice. And, since both are our allies (especially Pakistan because of the whole Al-Qaeda thing), we COULD, conceivably, serve in a mediation role. ...If it DID become a Pakistan/India issue (and...c'mon...that's not out of the question).

 

[Fig]

No, unfortunately it's very much a possibility.

Unfortunately, because both are nuclear-armed states, and both sometime tend to put too much faith in their own rethoric. The possibility of this blowing up into a full-fledged war, let alone a mushroom clouds scenario, shouldn't be dismissed.

Honestly, I'd much rather America and britain (whose citizens in Mumbai were apparently deliberately targeted for killing) take the lead at this point than let India deal with it.

I don't have much faith in the ability of the government of America to avoid escalation, but that's a whole lot more faith I have in them than in the government of India.

 

[JB88]

It's because Americans were killed that the media has taken a huge stride into it. Attacking a financial district is comparable to 9/11. The foreign presence in those hotels were targeted, because the Americans and British support Israel. A Jewish center was held captive, don't forget.

I don't have much faith in the ability of the government of America to avoid escalation, but that's a whole lot more faith I have in them than in the government of India.

Why do you say that?

 

[Snake Bandage]

Since some of the people taken hostage were Americans, it sort of becomes American business.

There are at least nine Israeli hostages. Some of them are at Nariman House, the home of Mumbai's Chabad House. Actually, judging by the testimony given by the Chabad rabbi's son's nanny, it seems like the rabbi and his wife were both killed. So maybe it's Israeli business too? Maybe we should butt in too!

Or not.

I honestly don't think it has everything to do with Israel. Pakistan and India have enough issues with each other and they have nothing to do with Israel. Or the United States. Or Britain.

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

It's because Americans were killed that the media has taken a huge stride into it.

I can't even begin to say how much I disagree with that statement. A terror attack on this scale would be news whether Americans were involved or not. There are dead from Canada, Britain, Singapore, and Germany among other countries, and even more people wounded.

Saying that its only news because Americans were killed is the most ridiculous thing I've read all week.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

Don't America, Britain, and Israel have a right to see that their citizens are protected, even abroad? Especially when they're SPECIFICALLY targeted? I mean...it's not like they were skinny dipping in Saudi Arabia. It's India. Sure, it's not exactly a safe place, but it's not like they issue bulletproof vests and helmets.

I'm not saying that anyone other than India should sweep in and take control, but when your citizens are dying...it makes sense to say "hey...need any help?"

 

[JB88]

I honestly don't think it has everything to do with Israel. Pakistan and India have enough issues with each other and they have nothing to do with Israel. Or the United States. Or Britain.

These terrorists would drag in everyone else into the Indo-Pak conflicts. Even if this group is linked with Al-Qaeda, why wouldn't they target Israel, let alone the United States and Britain?

I can't even begin to say how much I disagree with that statement. A terror attack on this scale would be news whether Americans were involved or not. There are dead from Canada, Britain, Singapore, and Germany among other countries, and even more people wounded.

Saying that its only news because Americans were killed is the most ridiculous thing I've read all week.

Well, what about what happened in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, and Bangalore? I don't think there were any foreign deaths, yet how much has been aired in the international media?

I am just saying the news stations here are having more coverage over it because Americans were involved in the attacks. Had there not been any, it wouldn't have aired for so long.

 

[evkl]

This was unusually ballsy for a terrorist organization. Suicide bombings or other attacks are pretty expected, but armed takeovers of national icons, and hostage-holding to go along with it, is REALLY unusual.

It'd be like terrorists taking over the Waldorf Astoria and 30 Rock in NYC or something.

 

[Girafarig_Magcargo]

News just over the wires that 2 Americans have been confirmed dead, and 5 hostages inside the Jewish Center, including the rabbi and his wife, were also found dead.

 

[Snake Bandage]

News just over the wires that 2 Americans have been confirmed dead, and 5 hostages inside the Jewish Center, including the rabbi and his wife, were also found dead.

I feel horrible for their little son. Especially since today is his second birthday.

If any country wants to help, they can ask to help with the investigation and give the Indians professional advice on how to deal with it next time, so it wouldn't happen again. That's all.

 

[JB88]

I can only express condolences to the victims at the Jewish center.

I don't know if it's the first time, that the Indians have asked for assistance from the American government.

Thing is, is that these things have happened in India over the years, from about 35 years ago, escalated by Pakistan. So they are pretty much used to these crises. This one is different by the way it was performed, and no one saw it coming.

 

[Fig]

Why do you say that?

India and Pakistan have spent the last half-century trying to find a reason to justify (to the rest of the world) obliterating the other into non-existence. They're (far, far more so than any stupid Al Qaeda) my primary source of worries for nuclear escalation in the world.

There are a number of reason for this. Number one is that they have an intense hatred for one another, nearly at Balkans-level of hatred (and believe me, if any balkan nation, especially Serbia, got their hands on The Bomb, I would be building myself a bunker and supplying it).

Number two is that India has a LOT of poor people, and one good way to keep down-on-their-luck people happy about the government (or at least willing to give your government a chance) is to fingerpoint some "Enemy" group as the source of your pains and worries. Bonus points if your people already hate that group. Lord knows lots of Indians want Pakistan just gone .

Number three is that they have gone to war often enough in recent times, and narrowly avoided war quite a few times as well, mostly because the rest of the world was leaning against them.

In other, somewhat relate news, a major worry of mine relate to the potentiality of a Pakistan-India war is that there are a effing lot of Muslims in India (over 10% of the population in a country of well over a billion) and already a lot of back and forth violence between Hindu and Muslims...and governments willing to turn a blind eye to Hindu revenge killings. That sort of hatred in a nation this large actively in cold war with a country of the opposing ethnic group is one hell of a scary picture. There are a LOT of ways for those things to add up and cross the line into the G-word territory (No, not "Government". "Genocide".) And Genocide against an ethnic group that takes nine digits to count up...is one hell of a scary thought.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think the average Indian want the Muslims genocided, at least not if you were to ask them in a moment of rational thinking. I suspect a lot may say they want them "not in India", I suspect a lot may say "I want them to stop attacking us". And of course, unlike most past Genocide situation, you have the Muslim terror groups at work here busily giving the Indians new and creative reasons to get worked up about Muslims in India. Particularly should there be an Indo-Pakistani war. Particularly particularly should Pakistan unleash its big bombs.

Bottom line is, add those things together and you can perhaps figure out why I want a lot of people stepping between India and Pakistan, and telling them, "No.". (And then taking care of any shooting one way or the other that has t be done)