Pat Dollard | Young Americans

NEW YORK - The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has confirmed that a New York rabbi and his wife are among the dead in the India terrorist attack.

A spokesman, Rabbi Zalman Schmotkin, says Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, have been killed in Mumbai. They ran the movement’s local headquarters, which was one of 10 sites attacked.

The couple’s toddler son, Moshe Holtzberg, was taken out of the center by an employee, and is now with his grandparents.
(AP)

*** UPDATE Friday Afternoon:

Rabbi and wife killed at Mumbai Jewish center

NEW YORK - A Brooklyn-based rabbi and his wife were killed in the siege on a Jewish center in Mumbai as part of the coordinated attacks on India’s financial center, their New York-based organization said on Friday.

“Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the beloved directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, were killed during one of the worst terrorist attacks to strike India in recent memory,” the New York-based Chabad-Lubavitch Movement said in a statement.

Gunmen had attacked the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Community Center in Mumbai’s Colaba district and took hostages, prompting Indian security forces to storm the center.

Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, was born in Israel and moved to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn with his parents when he was nine. His 28-year-old wife, born Rivkah Rosenberg, was a native of Afula, Israel.

They arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the small Jewish community there, running a synagogue and Torah classes, and assisting Jewish tourists to the seaside city.

Their 18-month old son, Moshe, was rescued early on Thursday morning and was in the custody of friends, the Chabad center said.

“Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice,” Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, said in a statement.

“As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists.”

Indian officials have said at least 124 people have been killed in the two-day standoff. It was not clear how many of the dead were foreigners but the group that led the assault on India’s financial capital seemed to be seeking out Westerners.
(Reuters)

*** UPDATE Friday Morning (ET):

Virginia Father, Daughter Visiting India Confirmed Dead in Terror Attacks

(FOX)

An American father and his teenage daughter were confirmed dead in the terrorist attacks in India by a Virginia foundation.

Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi of Faber, Va., were killed while they were in a cafe in Mumbai, a spokeswoman from the Synchronicity Foundation said Friday.

“They were deceased … and remained in the cafe until officials were able to get to them,” Bobbie Garvey told FOX News.

Garvey said the 58-year-old father and his daughter were identified by colleagues.

The State Department confirmed Friday the deaths of two Americans in the attacks, but did not release any names.

The Scherrs lived at the Nelson County foundation, about 15 miles southwest of Charlottesville, which promotes a high-tech form of meditation.

Garvey said Scherr is a Maryland native and a former college professor.

The foundation issued a statement about the father and daughter.

“[Alan] was committed to making a positive difference in the world and devoted himself to the community he lived in,” the statement read. “Naomi was a bright and lively young woman who loved spending time with people and living life to the fullest.”

Four other members of a 25-member delegation from Synchronicity were injured and are recovering, according to Garvey.

“The community down here is very joyous, but we’re also grieving,” she said, referring to the foundation members’ reactions to news of the survivors as well as the victims.

Mumbai attack: British men ‘among the terrorists’

British men were among the terrorists who killed 140 in the attacks in Mumbai, Indian authorities have claimed.

By Jon Swaine - (Telegraph UK)

Two British-born Pakistanis were among eight gunmen seized by Indian commandos who stormed buildings to free hostages, Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Mumbai, reportedly said.

The Foreign Office earlier said it was investigating reports on NDTV, a local television news channel, that the terrorists - who swarmed luxury hotels and other tourist sites in the city - included “British citizens of Pakistani origin”.

The development came as Gordon Brown called for international co-ordination to combat terrorism in the wake of the attacks. He said: “We have got to look at how international action against terrorism can be improved.”

On the claim that Britons could have been among the perpetrators, he said: “I would not want to be drawn into early conclusions about this.

“Obviously when you have terrorists operating in one country, they may be getting support from another country or coming from another country, and it is very important that we strengthen the co-operation between India and Britain in dealing with these instances of terrorist attacks.”

Describing events as “atrocious”, the Prime Minister told Sky News: “It is clear that we have got to help the Indian government deal with this terrorist incident and we have sent people from the Metropolitan Police to help.”

Mr Brown, who is to talk to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later on Friday, said he did not believe there were any further Britons among hostages.

One Briton, Andreas Liveras, the founder of a luxury yacht business who was in his 70s, has been confirmed among the dead, while at least seven are known to have been injured.

Mr Brown said: “Of course, we are mourning the death of a British citizen who has died and as the high commissioner visits hospitals in the Mumbai area, we are hoping to discover more in terms of the number of people injured.”

The Prime Minister’s comments came as Indian commando troops cleared the last terrorists from buildings across Mumbai.

At the Oberoi Hotel, at least 25 captives - including two Britons and another clutching a baby - were rushed out and loaded into waiting cars, buses and ambulances.

Mark Abell, a British lawyer, who on Thursday spoke to The Daily Telegraph while barricaded into his hotel room, was among those released. He said: “I’m going home, I’m going to see my wife.”

He added: “These people here have been fantastic, the Indian authorities, the hotel staff. I think they are a great advertisement for their country.”

Another man, who said he was British but would not give his name, said: “I didn’t see anything. I just heard loud blasts. I was in my room. I didn’t get out until an hour ago.”

Nicole Griffen, another Briton, said she had been rescued by Indian special forces from the Taj Mahal.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “They entered and looked through our passports and scouted around to see if there was (anyone) harbouring terrorists or attackers.

“And then we were promptly told where to go by the central stairway and again we were asked to wait with other guests while they checked other floors and checked other rooms and we all congregated into one space where they could protect us centrally.”

Heavy gunfire was heard early on Friday as commandos were dropped by helicopter on to the roof of a Jewish centre where at least 10 hostages were believed to be held.

A group calling itself Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

However, Mr Singh blamed “external forces” for the violence - a phrase sometimes used to refer to Pakistani militants, whom Indian authorities often blame for attacks.

The country’s foreign minister was more explicit.

“According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible,” Pranab Mukherjee said.

Heavy Gunfire Erupts After Helicopter Drops Indian Commandos on Besieged Jewish Center

***UPDATE:

Pakistan warns India against attack accusations
Says linking it to Mumbai terrorism would ‘destroy all the goodwill’

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan warned India against accusing of it links to the Mumbai terror attacks Thursday, saying doing so would “destroy all the goodwill” between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

The remarks by Pakistan’s defense minister came hours after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said militants based outside his country carried out the atatcks.

Singh did not single out Pakistan, which New Delhi has accused of complicity in terror attacks on its soil before, but his remarks are likely to be taken as a sign here that India suspects Pakistani links somewhere in the plot.

A serious deterioration in relations between Pakistan and India, which have fought three wars since 1947, would greatly complicate U.S. foreign policy in South Asia as it tries to get Islamabad to focus less on its southern neighbor and more on tackling al-Qaida and Taliban militants along the Afghan border.

In 2001, militants fighting Indian-rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir attacked the parliament in New Delhi, helping push the countries to the brink of war a year later.

The attacks late Wednesday saw teams of gunmen target at least 10 sites, including two luxury hotels, a railway station and a Jewish center, in the financial capital of Mumbai. More than 100 people were killed.

In an address to the nation, Singh said the group that carried out the attacks “was based outside the country” and warned its neighbors “that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated.”

‘We should not be blamed’
Pakistan Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar condemned the attacks, but said “we should not be blamed like in the past.”

“This will destroy all the goodwill we created together after years of bitterness,” he told The Associated Press. “I will say in very categoric terms that Pakistan is not involved in these gory incidents.”

Earlier, Indian navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar said navy officers had boarded a cargo vessel it suspected of ties to the attacks that had come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan. He later said the ship was not linked in any way to the strikes.

Many analysts said Wednesday’s attacks were more likely to have been carried out by indigenous, Indian extremist groups blamed for a series of bombings this year. (CONTINUE READING)

CNN Reporter Attacked In Chaos Outside Taj Hotel

*** UPDATE:

(FOX) 2:50 p.m. EST — A high-ranking Indian state official says the siege has ended at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel.

An official with the Maharashtra state home department, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said there were no further details.

Sources tell FOX News that two of the last three gunmen were killed, but that there is one wounded militant still inside the hotel.

There are reports that the National Security Guard are trying to convince the remaining gunmen to surrendering.

The Times of India, meanwhile, is reporting that 70 hostages have been rescued at the nearby Trident Hotel, but that a fire continued to burn there and in the adjacent Oberoi hotel.

A state official also said eight hostages have been freed from the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Lubavitch Chabad, which is based in New York City.

Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor told FOX News that he was briefed by officials in Mumbai, and cannot confirm that all eight hostages at the center have been released.

There also were conflicting reports about whether there were any gunmen still inside the center.

In other developments:

— State Department officials say at least three Americans were injured in a wave of terrorist attacks that swept through an upscale district of Mumbai, India, Wednesday night.

There were unofficial reports that a few Americans may be among the 119 people so far reported killed in the attacks, but State Department spokesman Robert McInturff said the U.S. government has no information that any U.S. citizens died in the attacks and said that could not identify those who were injured.

U.S. officials have been checking with Indian authorities and hospitals to learn the extent of casualties involving Americans.

He said that U.S. officials also called American citizens who registered with the U.S. consulate there. McInturff also said

“We have a lot of dual citizens who travel a lot,” he said. “We have activated a phone tree. We’re taking names of those we have and see who they know.”

— The AP reported the death toll was 119, but NDTV reports 125 dead, including 14 policemen and six foreigners, though there were reports that as many as nine foreigners were killed. At least 335 people were reported wounded, a number that is expected to climb. Officials feared the death toll could also climb once the hotels were secured and security forces could conduct a room-by-room search.

The dead reportedly also included the chief of the city’s anti-terror squad.

— A FOXNews.com correspondent traveling in the region reports Indian authorities are looking into a possible Pakistan connection.

Local media reports one of the captured gunmen was identified as Abu Ismail, from Faridkot, Pakistan. Police reportedly intercepted communications between the terrorists, and that one of the gunmen instructed the others to say they were from Hyderabad, a major city in central India. The communication reportedly was in Punjab, which is not spoken in Hyderabad, but is spoken in Pakistan.

The Daily Mail reported the suspect may have been trained by Lashkar-e-Toiba, a militant group that operates training camps inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

— One of the gunmen in the Oberoi hotel, one of three buildings the terrorists occupied Wednesday night, reportedly told Indian TV that his hostages would only be released if “mujahideens” and Islamic militants were released from Indian jails.

“Release all the mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled,” he said.

— Indian Coast Guard officials say they boarded the MV Alpha, a Vietnamese-registered ship that is suspected to have transported the terrorists who carried out the attacks. The ship was boarded about 70 miles off the east coast of India. Officials say the decapitated body of the ship’s captain was found onboard, and that the vessel probably carried the gunmen from a port in Gujarat, a peninsula in northwest India bordering Pakistan.

While state officials said the hostages held at the Jewish center were released, the nearby Israeli Embassy continued to express concern for its citizens. There were unconfirmed reports that some of the hostages at the Oberoi hotel were Israeli nationals.

— Reuters reports a militant at the Lubavitch Chabad Center phoned an Indian TV station with an offer to talk with government officials about the release of hostages.

The caller reportedly also complained about abuses in Indian Kashmir.

“Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir?” the caller asked, speaking in Urdu. “Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims. Are you aware how many of them have been killed in Kashmir this week?”

Chabad spokesman Moni Ender in Israel said there were eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife.

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.

An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. While there was no way to verify that claim, security experts in India and U.S. speculated the group either is an Al Qaeda faction, or has the backing the Muslim terrorist group.

Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist with the Swedish National Defense College said the fact that Britons and Americans were singled out is one indicator of an Al Qaeda connection, along with the coordinated style of the attacks.

India’s prime minister blamed “external forces,” a veiled reference to Pakistan.

“The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of panic, by choosing high profile targets and indiscriminately killing foreigners,” Singh said in address to the nation.

The gunmen appeared to be part of coordinated attacks on at least 10 sites that began around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday local time.

Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around Mumbai’s landmark Taj Mahal hotel, and black-clad commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area, apparently the beginning of an assault on gunmen who had taken hostages in the hotel.

Soldiers outside the hotel said forces were moving slowly, from room to room, looking for gunmen and traps. At noon, two bodies covered with white cloth were wheeled out of the entrance and put in ambulances.

A series of explosions rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke and flames billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai’s waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning.

At the nearby upscale Oberoi hotel, soldiers could be seen on the roof of neighboring buildings. A banner hung out of one window read “save us.” No one could be seen inside the room from the road.

Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshots. All had come 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 and A.N. Roy, a top police official.

The attackers specifically targeted Britons, Americans and Israelis at the hotels and restaurant, witnesses said.

Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands.

“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.

The White House, meanwhile, said President Bush expressed condolences to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the attacks.

Press secretary Dana Perino said the president had the conversation with the Indian leader while spending Thanksgiving Day with his family at the Camp David mountaintop retreat in Maryland.

Perino said that Bush offered Singh “support and assistance” as he works to restore order in the populous and growing Southwest Asian nation. The president also wished Singh success as Indian officials investigate “these despicable acts” in Mumbai.

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.

Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. The Taj Mahal hotel, filled with Oriental carpets, Indian artifacts and alabaster ceilings, overlooks the fabled Gateway of India that commemorated the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.

A spokesman for the Lubavitch movement in New York, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, said attackers “stormed the Chabad house” in Mumbai.

“It seems that the terrorists commandeered a police vehicle which allowed them easy access to the area of the Chabad house and threw a grenade at a gas pump nearby,” he said.

State Home Minister R.R. Patil vowed to catch the terrorists, “dead or alive.” Patil told reporters. “An attack on Mumbai is an attack on the rest of the country.”

Indian authorities ordered schools and colleges and the Bombay Stock Exchange closed Thursday.

Blood smeared the grounds of the 19th century Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station — a beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture — where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal.

Photos in the Mumbai Mirror newspaper showed a young gunman — dressed like a college student in cargo pants and a black T-shirt — walking casually through the station, an assault rifle hanging from one hand and two knapsacks slung over a shoulder.

Nasim Inam, a witness said four of the attackers gunned down scores of commuters. “They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground.”

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 was blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers. Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital, though it was not immediately clear if anyone was killed.

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.

Terror On Attack … Video Footage Of Terrorists At the Beginning Of The Attack

Indian Security Says Terrorists Behind Mumbai Attacks Are From Pakistan

Commandos Stage for Rescue of Last Hostages as New Oberoi Hotel Fire Burns

*** UPDATE:

(FOX)

Media reports say gunmen seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch overnight, and that shots have now been heard coming from the building, in the latest of attacks in Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

Representatives of the New York-based group referred questions to their Web site, which said the Israeli consulate had earlier been in touch with the rabbi who lived in the house, “but the line was cut in middle of the conversation. No further contact has since been established.”

The city was under siege Thursday morning, as authorities struggled to regain order after teams of gunmen launched a wave of deadly nighttime attacks on several sites popular with Westerners.

The group behind the attacks reportedly singled out Americans and Britons as targets. It wasn’t immediately clear whether U.S. citizens were among the dead, who numbered at least 101, the Associated Press reported. At least 250 people were injured in the attacks, Reuters reported.

India’s NDTV reported Thursday morning that a “desperate hostage situation” still was under way at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, with a few terrorists holed up in each hotel despite Indian forces’ attempts overnight to take back control of the buildings. As the sun rose, sporadic gunfire could be heard.

It isn’t clear yet what motivated the attacks, which also targeted a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station, though eyewitnesses said gunmen were heard shouting questions seeking people with American and British passports.

Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the upscale Oberoi hotel, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands

“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.

Reuters reported 86 people had been killed, including 11 police officers, and 250 people were injured. The Associated Press, quoting a senior police official, said the chief of India’s anti-terror squad was one of the dead.

Early Thursday, state home secretary Bipin Shrimali said four suspects had been killed in two incidents when they tried to flee in cars, and A.N. Roy, a top police official, said two more gunmen were killed at the Taj Mahal. State Home Minister R.R. Patil said nine more were arrested. They declined to provide any further details.

“We’re gong to catch them dead or alive,” Patil told reporters. “An attack on Mumbai is an attack on the rest of the country.”

An organization calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed it was behind Wednesday’s attacks. Some analysts suggest that the little-known group is actually an amalgam of existing Indian terror groups, including the Mujahideen Kashmir.

Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2007 that killed 187 people.

The White House condemned the latest attacks.

“President Bush offers his condolences to the Indian people and the families of the innocent civilians killed and injured in the attacks in Mumbai, India. … We will continue to stand with the people of India in this time of tragedy,” Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a written statement. “The U.S. government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens, and stands ready to assist and support the Indian government.”

The State Department established a Consular Call Center for Americans concerned about family or friends who may be visiting or living in Mumbai. The number is 888-407-4747.

“These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism,” said Brooke Anderson, President-elect Barack Obama’s chief national security spokesperson. “We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks,”

Blood smeared the floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal.

Nasim Inam’s hands shook when he spoke of seeing commuters gunned down as they walked to catch late trains home.

“Four boys rushed in. They wore black T-shirts and blue jeans. They were carrying big guns,” said Inam. “They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground.”

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. Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital, though it was not immediately clear if anyone was killed.

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.

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.

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.

Nine Hours of Terror: Evacuee From Taj Hotel Describes Harrowing Night in His Room

*** UPDATE:

John Bolton Responds To Today’s Terror Attacks:

200 people held hostage in Taj Hotel

(Samachar)

About 200 people were on wednesday night holed up inside a hall in the Taj Hotel in Mumbai as they were advised by the hotel staff not to go out because of the attack by terrorists.

They are holed up in the hall in the old wing of the hotel since 9.30 PM, when terrorists struck.

Krishna Das, MP, who was among those held up, said they had been advised not to move out of the hall till the police clears the place of terrorists.

He was having dinner with some friends in a restaurant of the hotel when he heard gunshots. The guests ducked under the table from where they had fleeting glimpse of terrorists who were firing indiscriminately.

At least 10 top business executives are also stuck on another floor of the hotel.

(nods msunderestimated.com)

(nods msunderestimated.com)

*** UPDATE:

Background: India’s 7/11 - By Clinton W. Taylor on 7.13.06 - (American Spectator)

Photo Essay

Is Pakistani Intelligence Involved in the Terrorist Attacks in India?

by Thomas Joscelyn - (The Weekly Standard)

In some ways, today’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai (Bombay), India are unremarkable. India has been repeatedly attacked in recent years. Pakistani and Kashmiri based terrorist groups, as well as so-called homegrown terrorists, kill up to hundreds every year. But if the early reports are correct, then today’s terrorist attacks seem unprecedented. As many as seven different locations (if not more) have been struck, with hostages taken. Most, if not all, of the targets are places that cater to westerners – restaurants, hotels, trains, etc. Moreover, the terrorists have laid siege to a couple of hotels and the terrorists are incredibly mobile, moving from location to location. The attacks are ongoing and the casualty count keeps rising. The result is a traumatized city and nation.

It is too early to tell with any precision who is behind these attacks. The smart money is on the multi-headed hydra of terrorist and extremist groups based in Pakistan and Kashmir. Indeed, Pakistan’s intelligence service has waged a proxy war against India using terrorists for decades. The two nuclear powers have avoided a large-scale exchange, but the Pakistani ISI has repeatedly sponsored or aided terrorist groups targeting civilians in India. For example, Indian authorities were quite vocal in blaming Pakistan for the July 11, 2006 train bombings, which killed more than 200.

Today’s attacks, if they are indeed a continuation of Pakistan’s proxy war, threaten to destabilize relations between the two nations further. The contest for regional hegemony has played out across the region from Kashmir to Afghanistan. And terrorist groups have, once again, reminded India of their reach deep into the subcontinent. In the coming weeks, when the chaos has played out and authorities stabilize the situation, it will be crucial for American authorities to pay attention to the evidence accumulated by Indian authorities. It is possible that Pakistani intelligence played no role in this attack, but it is equally possible, if not likely, that they did.

All of the prime suspects have ties to Pakistani Intelligence: Kashmiri separatists, Pakistani extremists, and even the Taliban and al Qaeda. American authorities should, therefore, look not only for evidence of which specific terrorist groups are involved, but also evidence of ties to the ISI.

Terror attacks in Mumbai; 80 dead, over 900 injured

(Times Of India)

Mumbai: In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city’s most high-profile targets — the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard — killing at least 80 and sending more than 900 to hospital, according to latest reports.

The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city’s top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai’s additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed.

The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel.

Two terrorists were reported holed up inside the Oberoi Hotel. Fresh firing has been reported at Oberoi and Army has entered the hotel to flush out the terrorists.

An unknown outfit, Deccan Mujahideen, has sent an email to news organizations claiming that it carried out the Mumbai attacks.

The Army and Navy in Mumbai were put on alert. 65 Army commandos and 200 NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.

The Navy commandos too have been asked to assist the police. Special secretary M L Kumawat is in constant touch with the state police.

Some media reports attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba. There were also unconfirmed reports that some of the terrorists came in by sea. A boat laden with explosives was recovered later at night off the Gateway of India. (CONTINUE READING)

*** UPDATE:

(One of the terrorists caught on video)

(FOX)

At least 40 people are reportedly being held hostage in Mumbai, India, by gunmen who targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks that killed at least 78 in the nation’s financial capital, police and witnesses said.

Eyewitnesses said the terrorists appeared to be targeting Americans and the British.

An organization calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed it was behind attacks in India’s financial capital Mumbai that have left at least 80 people dead, television channels reported, according to Reuters.

Nine suspected terrorists were caught, NMTV reported.

“We were asked if there were any British or Americans,” two eyewitnesses told Sky News.

At least 78 people were killed and 200 injured in the attacks, which began late Wednesday night, according to Johnny Joseph, the chief secretary of the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.

There were reports of new attacks on one hotel, the Trident, and gunfire at another, the JW Marriott. The Army was moving into the Oberoli hotel, according to local television reports.

Police were battling the gunmen, Maharashtra Police Commissioner A.N Roy said.

“The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed,” Roy said.

The State Department condemned the attacks and said it couldn’t confirm any U.S. casualties.

“Our sympathies go out to the families and friends of those killed and injured, and to the people of Mumbai,” said Robert A. Wood, a deputy spokesman at the State Department. “We are monitoring the situation very closely and stand ready to support the Indian authorities as they deal with this horrific series of attacks. At this point, we are unaware of any American casualties.”

Some of the gunmen are still holed up in buildings, a police official told Reuters, while NMTV is reporting two of the terrorists are dead.

Several European lawmakers were among those inside the hotel.

*** UPDATE:

(LAST OPERATION: Karkare gears up before entering the Taj Palace hotel.)

(IBNLive)

India’s Top Anti-Terror Chief Killed

Mumbai: Hemant Karkare, Maharashta Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, and two of his officers were killed in the terrorist attack in Mumbai on Thursday.

Karkare, 54, was killed in a shootout with terrorists at the Taj Mahal Hotel where terrorists have taken at least 15 people hostage.

Additional commissioner Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Saluskar were killed in a shootout with terrorists at Metro Cinema.

Karkare, a 1982 batch IPS officer, had returned to his state cadre after a seven-year tenure with the Research and Analysis Wing, Indian external intelligence agency, in Austria. His death is likely to affect the probe into the Malegaon blast.

IANS reports that there were six other police officials among the dozens killed in the coordinated terror attacks late Wednesday night.

Foreigners targeted in coordinated Bombay attacks

by Rhys Blakely in Bombay - (Times Online)

Gunmen stalked a hotel in Bombay looking for British and US passport holders during co-ordinated attacks across the city that have left at least 18 dead.

A series of shootings and bomb blasts at luxury hotels and bars in the south of the city hit at least nine locations. Security sources said “a major terror attack” was unfolding amid reports that foreigners had been taken hostage in one hotel.

Shootings were reported in the lobby of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the Colaba area of south Bombay and at the nearby Leopolds bar, a popular destination with western backpackers. Witnesses described pools of blood and bullet scarred walls at both locations.

A witness at the hotel told a local television station: “They wanted anyone with British or American passports.

“They wanted foreigners.”

It was feared that the death toll could rise significantly. The Times of India reported that more than 80 people had lost their lives.

Nearby, witnesses described a “high intensity” bomb blast at the Oberoi hotel, also in the south of the city, a regular meeting place for businessmen and wealthy tourists. Paramilitary forces were readying to storm the tower-block building, one of Bombay’s best-known landmarks as smoke continued to pour from the hotel lobby amid fears that hostages were being held by gunmen inside.

City residents several miles away said they had heard a huge blast – many had initially thought it was a firework set off to celebrate a wedding. Elsewhere in the city, a taxi was blown apart, apparently by another large bomb.

Sajjad Karim, an MEP for the North West of England who is in Bombay said he had seen a gunman opening fire in the lobby of Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Speaking via mobile phone, he said: “I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running … A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me. I managed to turn away and I ran into the hotel kitchen and then we were shunted into a restaurant in the basement.” “We are now in the dark in this room and we’ve barricaded all the doors. It’s really bad.” Outside the Taj hotel, injured guests were being stretchered away on the hotel’s golden-coloured luggage carts.

There were also reports that two gunmen had been cornered by police at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the main railway station of Bombay, India’s commercial capital. Intermittent firing from automatic weapons was heard at the scene. Commandoes were being drafted in.

A senior police officer said about 100 people were known to be injured across the city, but that the figure was likely to rise. He said that police were battling gunmen in several locations. He said: “terrorists have used automatic weapons and we have reports that in some places hand grenades have been used”.

No group claimed immediately responsibility.

A.N. Roy, police chief for the state of Maharashtra state, in which Bombay is located, said: “”It looks like a terrorist attack, we are investigating who are behind it.” Early accounts were confused as mobile phone networks jammed and the city’s police control room was flooded with calls from a terrified public. As the first incidents were reported at around 10pm it was though that the violence could be the result of a turf war between rival mafia gangs. As the reports of fresh attacks began to mount, a co-ordinated terror attack became a more tenable explanation.

Memories are still fresh of the most recent serious terror attacks to hit Bombay: the bomb blasts of July 11 2006. On that day, seven blasts on the train network in 11 minutes killed more than 200 people.

In recent months, Bombay has been on high alert for an attack in the wake of a series of bombings across several major Indian cities.

Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Bangalore were hit by elaborate terror campaigns that have claimed more than 150 lives over the past six months. The Indian Mujahideen, a previously unknown Islamist terror group, has claimed responsibility.

Last night in Bombay there was widespread panic as residents feared a repeat of the terror tactics used in Ahmedabad, where bombers targeted the city’s hospitals a short time after triggering bombs elsewhere in the city.

One television news channel said that shots had been fired at hospitals.

A police spokesman said: “We have only a very tenuous grasp on what is happening so far. People are scared. The incidents being reported are so many. Gunmen are under siege at several locations but we are worried about hitting civilians”

25 Feared Dead in Mumbai Terror Attack

(FOX)

MUMBAI, India — DEVELOPING: At least 25 people are feared dead after gunman targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India’s financial capital Thursday, police and witnesses said.

There are unconfirmed reports of at least 14 Westerners being held hostage by the gunmen, NVTV is reporting.

Police were battling the gunman, Maharashtra Police Commissioner A.N Roy said.

“The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed,” Roy said.

Some of the gunmen are still holed up in buildings, a police official told Reuters.

Two eyewitnesses told Sky News that the gunmen were going after Westerners.

“We were asked if there were any British or Americans,” they said.

Gunmen opened fire on two of the city’s best-known luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi. They also attacked the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station in southern Mumbai and Leopold’s restaurant, a Mumbai landmark.

“People started running out,” an eyewitness said. “The crowd came out of the station: I saw people limping and coming out. I said ‘Run.’ We ran and I said, finally I said, ‘Run’ and one person got hit by bullet and fell down and I got hit on the neck and went to the hospital and I just came from there ”

It was not immediately clear what the motive was for the attacks.

“It was really scary,” Janice Sequeira, a tourist who had been at a restaurant in the Taj Mahal Hotel, said. “It was like the sound of loud crackers, not one but several, we just ran out of there.”

At the Oberoi, police officer P.I. Patil said shots had been fired inside and the hotel had been cordoned off. He would not give any other details.

The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A.K. Sharma as saying that several men armed with rifles and grenades were still in the train station.

Leopold’s restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

At least 25 people had been brought to the G.T. Hospital near the shootings, said hospital official Yogesh Pandey.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Sky News contributed to this report.

LIVE FOX NEWS STREAM

Raw Data: Recent Attacks on Americans or American Interests in India

(FOX NEWS)

Bombing — Aug. 16, 2006:

Five people were killed and 50 injured, including five Americans, in an explosion at an International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple in Imphal. The bombing was timed to the celebration of Janmasthami, which honors the appearance or birthday of Krishna, so a large crowd of devotees were gathered at the temple.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. In the days after the attack, major militant groups in the region released statements denying their invovlement. Among these groups were the Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup, the Kangleipak Communist Party, the People’s United Liberation Front and the Peoples Liberation

Bombing — May 13, 2002:

Three bombs were thrown at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Bihar. Two exploded, and the third was defused. No injuries were reported. Pamphlets left at the site condemned foreign goods. Police say that the bombing may be related to an extortion scheme.

The attack was reportedly blamed on “miscreants,” but People’s War Group and the Maoist Communist Center are active in Bihar.

Armed attack — Jan. 22, 2002:

Five security officers were killed and 20 injured when four gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on the American Center in Calcutta.

The American Center houses the U.S. Information Service, the Embassy’s Public Affairs and Press Offices and a Cultural Center. Two groups, Harakat-ul-Jehad Islami and Asif Raza Commandos, have each claimed responsibility.

On April 26, 2005, a court in Kolkata found seven people, including Aftab Ansari, the main accused, guilty of murder, conspiracy and waging war against the country.

Source: Lawson Terrorism Information Center