India

Forces control Jewish centre, Taj hotel still unsecured

Article published on the 2008-11-28 Latest update 2008-12-01 13:08 TU

Commandos break a window of the Nariman House after an explosion
(Photo: Reuters)

Indian special forces took control of a Jewish centre in Mumbai on Friday, killing two gunmen and finding five dead hostages, including an American rabbi and his wife. Indian National Security Guard (NSG) commandos had dropped before dawn from a helicopter onto the roof of the Nariman House, home to the Chabad-Lubavitch orthodox Jewish group. They stormed the building in the early evening after a prolonged gun battle throughout the day. NSG chief JK Dutt said the five hostages had been killed by the gunmen. All were Israeli citizens, according to Israeli diplomat Eli Belotsercovsky.

The rabbi, Gavriel Holtzberg, was born in Israel and moved to New York as a child, and his Israeli wife were killed in the attacks, said the New York-based Chabad-Lubavitch movement in a statement. Their young son was rescued by their nanny.

Elsewhere in Mumbai, security forces have said that they are in control of two luxury hotels that were seized by militants on Wednesday. But correspondent Mouhssine Enaimi, speaking to RFI from in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel, said that seems premature.

“The army for the last days said there were no hostages… that the situation was stabilised, the situation is under control. But we clearly see that it wasn’t the case,” he said.

On Friday military units were trying to subdue at least one militant holding out in the Taj Mahal Hotel.

“Regarding the Taj, there was a lot of firing today,” said Enaimi. “There were two journalists injured by some shots.”

Another hotel, the Oberoi-Trident, had been brought under the control of armed forces earlier Friday, according to officials.

The death toll from attacks throughout the city has risen to at least 140 people, though reports indicate that number might be conservative.

The five Israelis killed in the Jewish centre bring the number of foreign deaths to at least 17, including two French nationals.

The president of the French lingerie company, Princess Tam Tam, announced that the creator of the brand, Loumia Hiridjee and her husband, Mourad Amarsy, were found dead.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed that two French nationals had died in Mumbai.

Kouchner said earlier than about 20 French nationals and the crew of an Air France flight who were trapped at the Oberoj-Trident hotel had been rescued.

Now that the situation seems to be somewhat under control, people are starting to try to figure out what happened.

“The population from Mumbai is starting to see the end of the thing,” said Enaimi. “The country is coming to analyze the consequences.”

He described a question posed by a viewer on local television, which asked if “20 can take over Mumbai, so what can 100 people do, take India?"

The Indian government has directly blamed Pakistan for the attacks, without providing details.

Pakistan has been denying the accusations.

"I am saying it again, that we have nothing to do with the attacks in Mumbai," said Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani in a televised press conference Friday evening.

"We condemn it; the whole nation has condemned it. We are already the victim of terrorism and extremism,” he added.

Gilani said he would send the head of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), Ahmed Shuja Pasha, to Mumbai to help Indian investigators.