India

Mumbai death toll rises, police say attackers came from Pakistan

Article published on the 2008-11-27 Latest update 2008-11-27 16:07 TU

Fire at the Taj Mahal hotel
(Photo: Reuters)

The death toll in the series of attacks in Mumbai has risen to 125, according to Indian police. Military officials say that the attackers came from Pakistan. Flames and smoke issued from one room in the Taj Mahal hotel, which commandos are trying to clear, while hostages are being held in the Trident-Oberoi hotel.

Military officials have backed up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claim that the attacks were orchstrated from outside the country.

"They are from across the border and perhaps from Faridkot, Pakistan. They tried to pretend that they were from Hyderabad," said Major-General RK Hooda, who is leading the military operation to flush out the fighters.

"By all accounts, it is a terrorist outfit from Pakistan because a number of the terrorists have been captured and one has given his name, only his first name, and said that he is from Faridkot," says analyst Kamal Mitra Chenoy of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

But Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi appealed to Delhi not to "jump to conclusions".

"This is a global menace... we have to join hands to deal with this menace collectively," he said.

Indian officials say they have extracted proof of their claim from captured fighters.

"Apparently, the terrorists came by boat and then disembarked and then went into action," says Chenoy. "They were dressed in civilian dress but they were very heavily armed."

Although the Lashkar-i-Tayyiba group, which is fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, denied involvment in the attacks, a little-known outfit called the Deccan Mujahedeen has claimed responsibility.

Chenoy says that this might implicate the Pakistani secret services, the ISI.

"The Deccan is in both India in Pakistan,"  he told RFI. "Now, the obvious inference would be that they are linked to the ISI." 

"But also we know that there are terrorist groups operating in Pakistan who are attacking the Pakistan state," he adds. "So it would be a bit early to speculate on that, though it seems most likely that it would be ISI but it could be a group of terrorists that have autonomous links with Al-Qaeda."

If Delhi believes that Islamabad is linked to the attacks, relations between the two countries are likely to be further poisoned, says Chenoy.

"If it turns out that it is a Pakistan-based group, and with the elections on in the state assemblies and national elections coming by April, there is likely to be a strong very response," he says.

Fifteen Air France crew members are trapped inside the Trident/Oberoi, the company says, confirming earlier reports by French officials.