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Mumbai Taj Hotel onslaught ends
Death toll rises to 125 -All militants killed -‘Deccan Mujahideen’
claim responsibility, demand release of Mujahideen, withdrawal of
troops from IHK
Mumbai—A state official says the siege has ended
Mumbai’s Taj Hotel and the last three gunmen there have been killed.
An official with the Maharashtra state home department, speaking on
customary condition of anonymity, said there were no further
details.
At least 125 people were killed and 300 injured when suspected
militants attacked 10 sites in Mumbai.
Black-clad Indian commandos raided two luxury hotels to try to free
hostages Thursday, and explosions and gunshots shook India’s
financial capital a day after the attacks.
About 10 to 12 gunmen remained holed up inside the hotels and a
Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen
appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Hooda told
New Delhi Television.
Authorities said 125 people died and 300 were injured when suspected
militants, armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives,
launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city
Wednesday night.
Officials said eight militants were also killed.
An organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed it
was behind attacks in India’s financial capital Mumbai that have
left over 125 people dead, television channels reported on Thursday.
The previously unknown or little known group sent an email to news
organisations claiming responsibility.
Deccan Mujahideen in its statement said you should know that your
acts are not at all left unnoticed; rather we are closely keeping an
eye on you and just waiting for the right time to execute your
bloodshed.
We are aware of your recent raids at Ansarnagar, Mograpada in
Andheri and the harassment and trouble you created there for the
Muslims. You threatened to murder them and your mischief went to
such an extent that you even dared to abuse and insult Maulana
Mahmood-ul-Hasan Qasmi and even misbehaved with the Muslim women and
children there.
“If this is the degree your arrogance has reached, and if you think
that by these stunts you can scare us, then let the Indian
Mujahideen warn all the people of Mumbai that whatever deadly
attacks Mumbaikars will face in future, their responsibility would
lie with the Mumbai ATS and their guardians - Vilasrao Deshmukh and
R R Patil. You are already on our hit-list and this time very
seriously.
One of the terrorist involved in Wednesday’s multiple attacks in
Mumbai told a television channel he belonged to Deccan Mujahedeen
seeking an end to the persecution of Indian Muslims.
The terrorist, who was holed up in the Oberoi Hotel, called for the
release of all fellow Islamic militants detained in India,
withdrawal of Indian troops from Held Kashmir and cutting ties with
Israel.
“Muslims in India should not be persecuted. We love this as our
country but when our mothers and sisters were being killed, where
was everybody?” he told the India TV channel by phone from inside
the hotel, which was surrounded by army commandos.
Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a
nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen,
authorities said.
While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day,
witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege
showed few signs of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out
of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.
The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside
the hotels, witnesses said.
Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel
rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as
well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for
authorities to get them to safety.
After dusk Thursday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one
of the city’s best-known five-star hotels.
One man, who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name,
told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give
more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details
of the rescue operation.
The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed
from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were still
trapped inside. Police said they were going slowly to protect the
captives.
A previously unknown militant group claimed responsibility for the
carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past
three years that have dented India’s image as an industrious nation
galloping toward prosperity. Among the dead were at least four
Australian and a Japanese national, according to the state home
ministry. An Italian, a Briton and a German were also killed,
according to their foreign ministries. The most high-profile target
was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and
a favorite watering hole of the city’s elite.
Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel Thursday
afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots
rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire
and explosions could be heard coming from the building.
The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the
hotel about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire indiscriminately.
Dalbir Bains, who runs a lingerie shop in Mumbai, was about to eat a
steak by the hotel pool when she heard gunfire. She ran upstairs,
taking refuge in the Sea Lounge restaurant with about 50 other
people. They huddled beneath tables in the dark, trying to remain
silent as explosions went off.
“We were trying not to draw attention to ourselves,” she said. The
group managed to escape before dawn. The gunmen also seized the
Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group
Chabad Lubavitch. Around 10:30 a.m., a woman, a child and an Indian
cook were seen being led out of the building by police, said one
witness. Chabad spokesman Moni Ender in Israel said there were eight
Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg
and his wife.
Among those foreigners still held captive in all three buildings
were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New
Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, Israelis and a Singaporean.
At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of
the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said Roy.
The United States and Pakistan were among the countries that
condemned the attacks.
In Washington, President George W. Bush offered Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh “support and assistance” as he works to
restore order in the populous and growing Southwest Asian nation,
according to White House press secretary Dana Perino.
The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai
has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on
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.
Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist with the Swedish National
Defence College, said there are “very strong suspicions” that the
coordinated Mumbai attacks have a link to al-Qaeda.
He said the fact that Britons and Americans were singled out is one
indicator, along with the coordinated style of the attacks.
India’s prime minister blamed “external forces.” “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.—AP
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