Mumbai attacks: Fighting goes on as terrorists hold out

Published on Friday 28 November 2008 17:37

THE bloody battle for Mumbai looked set to enter a third day today as terrorist gunmen defied attempts to prise them from hideouts.

Although the city's Oberai hotel and a Jewish centre were cleared of the killers, reports said anywhere between two and six of them remained in the Taj Mahal hotel.

At least two of the captured terrorists were of British Pakistani origin, India's Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

After hours of intermittent gunfire and explosions at the Taj, the battle heated up at dusk when Indian forces began launching grenades at the hotel.

An earlier airborne assault on a centre run by the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch ended in success but troops found the bodies of five hostages inside.

Commandos who had dropped onto the roof from helicopters emerged from the building with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a day-long fight that saw a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow gaping holes in the wall.

Reports differed between security officials over the extent of their success against the armed attackers who began the massacre in a co-ordinated attack on Wednesday, but some said their operations were almost over.

"It's just a matter of a few hours that we'll be able to wrap up things," General N. Thamburaj said early today.

More than 150 people have been killed and 370 injured so far.

The group rescued from the Oberoi, many holding passports, included at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians. Some carried luggage with Canadian flags. One man in a chef's uniform was holding a small baby. About 20 airline crew members were freed, including staff from Lufthansa and Air France.

Last night after about 400 people had been brought out of the Taj hotel, officials said it had been cleared of gunmen. But this morning, army commanders said that while three gunmen had been killed, two to three more were still inside with about 15 civilians.

A few hours after that a security official said at least one gunman was still alive inside the hotel and had cut of electricity on the floor where he was hiding. Shortly after that announcement, another round of explosions and gunfire were heard coming from the hotel.

Meanwhile India's foreign minister claimed the attackers came from a base in Pakistan.

"According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks," Pranab Mukherjee said.

"Proof cannot be disclosed at this time," he said, adding that Pakistan had assured New Delhi it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against India.

India has long accused Islamabad of allowing militant Muslim groups, particularly those fighting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, to train and take shelter in Pakistan. Mukherjee's carefully phrased comments appeared to indicate he was accusing Pakistan-based groups of staging the attack, and not Pakistan itself.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said: "I will say in very categoric terms that Pakistan is not involved in these gory incidents."

The gunmen were well-prepared, apparently scouting some targets ahead of time and carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy.

"It's obvious they were trained somewhere ... Not everyone can handle the AK series of weapons or throw grenades like that," an unidentified member of India's Marine Commando unit told reporters, his face wrapped in a black mask. He said the men were "very determined and remorseless" and ready for a long siege. One backpack they found contained 400 rounds of ammunition.

He said the Taj was filled with terrified civilians, making it very difficult for the commandos to fire on the gunmen.

"To try and avoid civilian casualties we had to be so much more careful," he said, adding that hotel was a grim sight. "Bodies were strewn all over the place, and there was blood everywhere."

India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most were bombings striking crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. Mumbai – one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million people – was hit by a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.