India

Mumbai battles over, say security forces

Article published on the 2008-11-29 Latest update 2008-11-30 11:26 TU

Flames come out of the Taj Mahal hotel during a gun battle, 29 November 2008
(Photo: Reuters)

In the early hours of Saturday, Indian National Security Guard (NSG) commandos killed the remaining gunmen in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel, putting an end to a three-day coordinated attack on several sites around the city that killed at least 195 people and injured almost 300. The final push, after a gunfight through the night, was marked by heavy gunfire, loud explosions and a fire in a ground floor ballroom.

“All operations are over,” announced Mumbai’s police chief Hassan Gafoor, as NSG forces came out of the hotel. “All the terrorists have been killed.”

“By morning it was completely cleared,” reports correspondent Jaimon George, who said that security forces were sweeping the building until 2 o’clock in the afternoon to find remaining explosives.

“Five or six explosions have taken place since this morning,” he said. “The commandos, were destroying the explosives.”

Head of NSG forces, JK Dutt said "we are now going through each and every room to make sure it is safe."

Commandos have rescued at least 610 people, 300 from the Taj Mahal Hotel, 250 from the Oberoi-Trident hotel and 60 from a Jewish centre that commandos stormed on Friday.

“After the attack we have got a number of injuries, about 131 cases, out of which three are critical now,” said Dr. Shashee Power who was treating injuries on at the JJ hospital in Mumbai on Saturday.

Most of the injured are Indian, but a number of them are foreigners.

“We will be looking forward to them to be revived as soon as possible so they can go home, and we wish them the best of luck for that,” said Power.

At least 15 security personnel were killed during the three-day battle in the various sites, including the head of Mumbai’s anti-terrorist squad, Hemant Karkare, whose funeral Saturday was attended by thousands.

Eleven people involved in the attack have been confirmed dead, and one was captured and is being detained.

Indian commandos said the attackers seemed to be well trained in weapons and knew the layouts of the buildings. Some arrived by boat, while others were in the city – even in the hotel – for some time before the attacks, stockpiling weapons and explosives.

India has said Pakistani nationals were involved in the attacks, an accusation that Pakistan has denied.

Gautam Navlakha, consulting editor of the Economic & Political Weekly, told RFI that India needs to tread very carefully when accusing Pakistan.

“A knee-jerk reaction of accusing somebody, not backed by evidence will not get us anywhere,” he said.

Pakistan’s cabinet held crisis talks Saturday to discuss a response to the allegations.

The chief of the ISI, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, was due to arrive in Mumbai to help the investigation, but a brief statement from the Prime Minister’s office Saturday reversed the decision, announcing that a representative will be sent instead.

“I think one should not read too much into it,” said Navlakha about the decision not to send the ISI chief.

He says there is no question that the attackers received outside help, but that India should wait for forensic evidence before pointing the finger at Pakistan. He agrees with other commentators who have speculated that Al-Qaeda may have provided the training.

“No other organisation… is in a position to undertake or provide the kind of training of this nature or this scale, with the military precision that went into it,” he said. “There are obviously some outside links. Now whether or not it is Pakistan or some XYZ country, it is only the evidence collected which can back that claim.”

Navlakha suggests that the attacks could have been a provocation to get India to react against Pakistan.

“What is also possible is this action has been taken to provoke India to increase its hostility and increase conflict with Pakistan to divert attention from what is happening in Pakistan’s frontier areas, where this is a war going on between Pakistan and the Taliban there, and Al-Qaeda,” he said.