|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 26, 2008 17:09:42 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 26, 2008 17:30:21 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 26, 2008 17:50:27 GMT -5
Gunmen began an assault on various locations in Mumbai around 10:30pm, with reports indicating they were armed with AK-47s and grenades. Latest media figures suggest at least 80 dead and 250 or more injured. At least seven targets have been reported by constituents and media:
1. Mumbai CST Railway station
2. Oberoi Hotel
3. Taj Hotel located near Gate of India
4. Trident hotel
5. Café Leopold restaurant in Colaba
6. A taxi on Dockyard Road in Mazgaon (some reporting as Vile Parle Expressway)
7. Cama Hospital
According to some reports, the three hotels have all been evacuated and surrounded by police. Explosions and gunfire were reported at all three, and video footage has shown wounded being removed from the scene at one of the hotels. The Cama Hospital incident appears to have been a single gunshot fired, and the taxi incident appears to have been an explosion in a car that killed three people.
Multiple sources have reported that the police have cornered two gunmen armed with AK-47s in the CST railway station, where they are currently barricaded in. Other reports indicate a possible hostage situation involving at least some foreigners at the Trident, Oberoi, and Taj hotels. Further reports of unknown credibility indicate gunmen may be going door-to-door within hotels seeking U.S. and UK passport holders.
Other unconfirmed reports have mentioned the Ramada and the Mumbai airport as possible attack locations as well, but there has not been widespread corroboration.
Private and Public Reponses
Police have apparently blocked all roads and are not allowing travelers out of the airports. Non-residents at major hotels have been asked discreetly to leave, and police security presence has been increased around them. Some constituents have reported taking the following security precautions:
• Mobilizing police support around perimeters.
• Prohibiting the entries of taxis, delivery trucks, and public vehicles.
• Inspecting properties for any possible latent threats.
• Employees sheltering in place.
Assessment
Media has reported that a previously unknown group, Deccan Mujahadeen, claimed responsibility for the attack in an email. While little is known about this purported organization, the coordinated nature of the attack suggests a relatively sophisticated group. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, an India-based militant group, used combinations of small-arms fire and explosives to storm the Indian parliament building in New Delhi in 2001.
The attack does not fit the typical modus operandi of the Indian Mujahideen terrorist group, which has recently used coordinated IED strikes in Bangalore, New Delhi, and Ahmedabad. Still, Mumbai was the one notable Indian city that Indian Mujahideen had yet to attack.
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 26, 2008 18:44:07 GMT -5
And why should we be paying so much attention to what is happening right now in India besides the fact that there are reports of US hostages? It is the most populous democracy in the world.  . |
|
Bugsey
LER member level 3
^^^^
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Posts: 1,299
|
Post by Bugsey on Nov 26, 2008 20:41:37 GMT -5
Although I know it's just a matter of time before the ISLAMOFASCISTS strike at our (USA) hearts and soul again, I pray it won't happen. I also send prayers to the Indian nation....
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 26, 2008 23:35:40 GMT -5
Terrorists came from Karachi via sea routes to Mumbai
Sharp shooters of Army and NSG moved into Taj Hotel in Mumbai to hole out terrorists.
WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACKS?
Witnesses say the attackers were young South Asian men speaking Hindi or Urdu, suggesting that they are probably members of an Indian militant group rather than foreigners.
The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen in an e-mail to news organisations. Deccan is an area of southern India.
Analysts say that while it is not clear whether the claim is genuine, the attacks were most likely carried out by a group called the Indian Mujahideen. The name used in the claim of responsibility suggests the attackers could be members of a south Indian offshoot or cell of the Indian Mujahideen.
* WHO ARE THE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN?
Indian police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), but that local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.
SIMI has been blamed by police for almost every major bomb attack in India, including explosions on commuter trains in Mumbai two years ago that killed 187 people.
Police said the Indian Mujahideen may also include former members of the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami.
* WHY ARE THEY SUSPECTED OF BEING BEHIND THE MUMBAI ATTACKS?
The Indian Mujahideen have made credible claims of responsibility for most of the recent major attacks on civilian targets in India over the past two years.
The Mumbai attacks appear to have been carefully co-ordinated, well-planned and involved a large number of attackers. A high level of sophistication has also been a hallmark of previous attacks by the Indian Mujahideen.
The Mumbai attacks also focused clearly on tourist targets, including two luxury hotels and a famous cafe.
In May, the Indian Mujahideen made a specific threat to attack tourist sites in India unless the Government stopped supporting the United States in the international arena.
The threat was made in an e-mail claiming responsibility for bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the tourist city of Jaipur. The e-mail, signed by "Guru Al-Hindi", declared "open war against India" and included the serial number...
|
|
cheswick
LER member level 3
Posts: 1,465
|
Post by cheswick on Nov 27, 2008 1:10:23 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailiffoldaccount on Nov 27, 2008 1:53:26 GMT -5
Pakistan and Bangladesh should be nuked forward to the Stone Age...
|
|
keltec
LER member level 3
Charter Member
Posts: 1,522
|
Post by keltec on Nov 27, 2008 13:04:45 GMT -5
I feel every Cop in the USA should be armed with an M4 as well as Shotgun and sidearm . We should also be dressed for battle not inthe same uniform as we wore 50 yrs ago .
Its gonna happen here one day , and we will be the trip wire or speed bump they roll over until a military force can be called .
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 27, 2008 20:45:46 GMT -5
I agree Keltec.
I would just add THOSE THAT CAN QUALIFY
with an M4 and Shotgun.
Heavy tactical vests should be in the trunk of every
RMP /Unit/ Cruiser
in the United States as well as spare batteries for radios,
water canteens, MAGS, MREs and so on.
I am always amazed at the lack of "real world" equipment
that is found in the trunks of the Crown Victorias around
the country. Something as simple as rope should be within
arms reach during an emergency. Hell, the Crown Vic has one
of the largest trunks if not THE largest trunk available now.
|
|
|
|
Post by zenmastercivillian on Nov 28, 2008 10:13:01 GMT -5
Playing civilian Monday morning quarterback here, but it seems to me that well trained, armed civilians could possibly have stemmed some of this attack - or at least held it off until the professionals arrived.
I'm an advocate for this in the US, especially now with the threats against our mass transit. The younger Zens are both taking Metro North separately upstate today. Think I'm not worried? ZMCette takes the train to school and home every day, plus an extra six trips to her job three days a week.
I also saw that a Chabad Lubavitch rabbi and his wife were taken hostage and authorities don't know if they're okay. Does this mean that the Islamofacists were targeting Jews?
|
|
|
|
Post by fran welch on Nov 28, 2008 11:20:48 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by laurnsmom on Nov 28, 2008 11:33:25 GMT -5
Fox news is reporting that the siege is over, and the hostages and gunmen are dead.
|
|
|
|
Post by zenmastercivillian on Nov 28, 2008 11:55:39 GMT -5
Fran, thanks for posting that video. Heartwrenching.
|
|
|
|
Post by evp5O on Nov 28, 2008 12:19:04 GMT -5
A team of South African bodyguards have been explaining how they led 120 hostages to safety from a hotel seized by gunmen in the Indian city, Mumbai.
The guards, armed only with knives and meat cleavers, helped other hotel guests to safety down a fire escape.
They carried a traumatised old woman in a chair down 25 flights of stairs.
"Everybody was calm and no-one became hysterical," said Bob Nicholls, director of the security company in Mumbai for a cricket tournament.
Mr Nicholls said he and his employees were eating in the restaurant and were planning to get an early night when they heard shooting in another part of the five-star Taj Mahal hotel.
See map of Mumbai
The seven bodyguards were in Mumbai providing protection for cricketers playing in the Indian Premier League tournament.
They barricaded the doors to the conference centre shut with tables and refrigerators and kept guests calm while they worked out what to do.
"Shortly afterwards, we felt explosions rock the building and I became worried about how safe the people were behind those glass doors," Mr Nicholls told South Africa's Beeld newspaper.
'Surprise'
"We put the lights off in the restaurant to give us an element of surprise," bodyguard Faisul Nagel told the AFP news agency.
They watched the lifts to see if the gunmen were coming their way.
When they realised the building was on fire they began to move the other hotel guests out.
"We told the security manager of the hotel to tell the police not to shoot, and then walked everyone down the fire exit at the back of the hotel very quickly," Mr Nagel said.
Mr Nicholls said they had all been trained how to deal with threatening situations.
Bodies
Indian commandos who managed to enter other parts of the Taj Mahal say they found at least 30 bodies in one hall. It is not clear if that number is included in the reported overall death toll of 130.
Gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades targeted at least seven sites in Mumbai late on Wednesday, opening fire indiscriminately on crowds at a major railway station, the two hotels, the Jewish centre, a hospital and a cafe frequented by foreigners.
|
|
Bugsey
LER member level 3
^^^^
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Posts: 1,299
|
Post by Bugsey on Nov 28, 2008 12:29:47 GMT -5
Let it known, these savage ISLAMOFASCIST Terrorists when caught and or killed(preferbaly) their entire bodies will be painted and dipped in pigs blood. The 'religion of peace,' in action again. STAY SAFE OUT THERE.
|
|
cheswick
LER member level 3
Posts: 1,465
|
Post by cheswick on Nov 28, 2008 15:25:12 GMT -5
Great victim impact statement. I had seen this video a while back but I still watched the whole thing again. When she was done she should have went over and kicked Chuck Scummer in the teeth. That look on his face just screamed S.T.F.U. |
|
