Mumbai Reign of Terror Continues Into 3rd Day
Jacob Cherian
November 27, 2008 Mumbai, India (GroundReport) - As operations turn to last-ditch efforts to rescue hostages, the terror attacks in Mumbai, India continue into its 35th hour.
According to officials, there could still be about 2-3 terrorists holding as many as 15 hostages held captive inside the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark hotel in the city.
The death toll has reached 125 with six foreigners having lost their lives in the attacks.
At 10:15 am local time on Friday, gunshots can still be heard around the Nariman House, where terrorists have been holed in. The seige in Mumbai now unfolds into a third day of fighting against an unkown militant group identifying themselves as the Deccan Mujahideen.
Local newspapers are reporting that this was a well planned out operation with shopkeepers and local residents in Mumbai saying that the organizers of the attack bough large amounts of supplies and provisions well in advance. In one case, a shopkeeper said, that a man bought as many as 100 chickens and 10 kilos of food supplies at a time. As eyewitness accounts like this begin to crop up, people in India are wondering why the likelihood of such an operation was not detected.
Among those asking for answers from intelligence officials as to the surprise nature of these attacks are the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the Congress Party chief, Sonia Gandhi.
Reports say that the terrorists had two separate control rooms in both the Taj and Oberoi luxury hotels, implying that they had checked into the hotel rooms earlier to make arrangements for the attack.
The terrorists landed on Indian soil from two separate ships using two boats estimated to cost approximately $2000 each. The fact that they were able to bypass the Indian Navy has raised some important questions as to the security in India. And this is likely to affect the nation's tourist industry as well.
Although one of the terrorists was believed to have made demands of releasing Muslim prisoners and equality for Muslims in India in exchange for hostages, news reports say that there was no room for negotiations in this coordinated attack.
The fact these men claiming to be 'holy fighters' took out three of Mumbai's leading anti-terror and anti-crime experts leaves no question as to their intent. There is also reports that extremists received help from the local Mafia in Mumbai. This comes as no surprise as the gunmen were armed with AK-47s, capable of shooting point blank at 400 metres and hand grenades. Mumbai is not a stranger to terrorism or to heinous crime. It is like any other cosmopolitan city - New York, Washington DC, London or Madrid, where terror attacks have been cited.
Although officials are saying this is not the time to point the finger at neighboring countries, there are rumors of a link to Pakistan, despite the fact that its defense minister has denied those allegations.
Intelligence agencies around the world are daunted by the attacks with many of them saying there was no evidence that such an attack was imminent. Terrorist experts have also mentioned that an operation of this sort points to a domestic terrorist group. Although international funding may be involved, experts have ruled out Al Queda as one of the groups behind the attacks - the compelling evidence here is that suicide bombers were not involved.
The mention of an unknown group like the Deccan Mujahideen, who have claimed responsibility for the dastartly attacks that is still ongoing, also suggests that Indian is breeding home-grown terrorists. Experts are quick to highlight that the Muslim minority in India, amounting to about 15% of the 1.6 billion population, are still behind their Hindhu counterparts in terms of economic prosperity that has sweeped India. The government's treatment of Muslims, in general, will require some rethinking as this attack sets a precedence for India as a nation.
It is not uncommon for a group like the Deccan not to release a manifesto as in previous attacks, say analysts. This group could have taken on a name simply to carry out its operations. The name Deccan refers to the middle or South (India) and Mujahadeen is Arabic for 'holy fighters.'
Although the Indian government dispells the notion of radical Muslims in India, analysts say that this is not about a few young people who want to cause mayhem in the streets of Mumbai or India. The attack a singular point of underscoring some fundamentals - killing top anti-terror fighters, identifying and seizing U.S. and British hostages specifically in luxury hotels, hitting soft targets like hospitals, train stations and cafe's. It is about a domestic agenda, cite experts.
Latest news reports indicate that as many as 100 hostages are still held captive at the Trident Oberoi hotel. The three locations where rescue operations are still underway are the Taj Mahal hotel, the Trident Oberoi hotel and the Nariman House - all tourist hotspots.
Tags: Terror Attacks , Terrorism , Mumbai Terror Attacks , Indian Terrorism ,
