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Here The city has called in the army. There's terrorists around the city - in hotels, the train stations, everywhere. They've rounded up foreigners and are holding them hostage.
I have family in Bombay.
Edit: the news stream is really horrifying. I've eaten in the cafe where they first opened fire.
This is the eleventh terrorist attack in India during the past year, with 200 dead over the year (as of now). The news just reported that the head of the anti-terrorist squad has been killed, along with 6 police officers.
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The top three police officers in Bombay have been taken out - commissioner, head of the anti-terrorist squad, and top strategic guy. They're definitely targeting police officers
They found a boatload of explosives right outside the Gate to India, next to the five star hotel (The Taj) which is currently in the control of the terrorists. They've rounded up at least 15 foreign tourists in that hotel, including Americans.
60 dead so far, not counting the handful of terrorists they've been able to take out.
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That's really scary. I've been to the Taj and all around the area where those attacks occurred.
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Like I said, it's been a bad year for terrorist attacks in India. Most of them have been from Muslim extremists (some of which are rumored to be funded by or from Pakistan), some have been connected with Hindu extremists. A Muslim terror group has just contacted some media and claimed to be responsible for the current attacks. Edit: India suffers from more terrorist attacks than any other nation, but very few Americans are aware of that fact.
There have been reports of gun fire at a women & children's hospital.
The two hotels which have hostage situations aren't looking good. There have been five blasts heard at the Taj, one at the Oberoi. The army is currently storming the Oberoi. People who escaped have said that the terrorists were checking over passports, looking for British & American ones.
Two terrorists took control of a police van and have driving around the city, shooting at groups. They've just been killed by the police.
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India has had more than their fair share of heartbreak in just the past 50 years (not even touching anything before that.) I hate this.
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The women & children hospital is confirmed as under siege, and at least 5 or 6 bodies have been reported. The army has circled it, and might be doing floor by floor sweeps right now.
The top of the Taj hotel (five star hotel, one of the top landmarks) is billowing a ton of dark smoke. Edit: flames are viable on half of the roof.
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Have you heard anything from your family there Jhai? Have they called you to let you know where they are and that they are okay?
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I remember on Sept 12. 2001, one of my grad. students who is from India came in to my office. He offered his deepest sympathy, and then said he understood because India had been suffering from Terrorist attacks for over a decade.
At that point in time, I had hopes that 9/11 might awaken Americans to what others in the world had been suffering for many years and become more united with these places in the globe. My largest regret is that we didn't have leaders who tried to lead us in that direction.
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quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Have you heard anything from your family there Jhai? Have they called you to let you know where they are and that they are okay?
Yes, I recently reached my sister-in-law in Bombay via gchat, and she and the rest of our family in the area are okay. Luckily, most of my Indian relatives are based out of Delhi and Calcutta. My sister-in-law had a work colleague visiting from Singapore who was staying at the Oberoi. She just found out that he escaped safely and is now at a friend's house out of the main fighting area.
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The Rabbit, I had a similar experience with a co-worker who fled Lebanon during the war-- she said she had flashbacks, and she hoped that this did not escalate to a war on U.S. soil, that we never had to know what that was like.
It was definitely chilling to realize that that kind of horror strikes yearly or even monthly or more often in some countries.
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My uncle lives in Mumbai. We haven't been able to reach him yet. My dad has stayed at the Taj. This looks to be a stressful Thanksgiving for the fam.
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SoaPiNuReYe, I hope you can reach your uncle soon. If it helps, most of the attacks are located in South Bombay, and things only started at roughly 11pm, IST.
Edit: Death toll is up to 101, including 6 foreigners. The hospital has been cleared, but it looks like the gunmen have moved on to an office building in the financial district, and possibly a Jewish prayer hall - there's reports of a rabbi & his family being taken hostage.
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I'll spare the redundant rumination of what kind of portent this attack was, but really a lot of information coming out is just surreal. A lot of the attackers were just kids and they were being almost wacky and spontaneous at times.
They managed to kill the chief of the anti-terrorism squad. I was sitting in my car listening to the live BBC report on the situation, as explosions rocked the city and the reporter had to speculate on whether or not they had to cease filming because a taj hotel behind them had just exploded. Whole nation caught flat-footed, 9/11 style, for a carnal terrorist rampage.
Grim s---, you know? I live a charmed existence over here in the states.
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For general interest, this seems to be still going on. Yikes.
quote: Fresh explosions and gunfire have been heard at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of several sites targeted in attacks that have killed at least 130.
Loud blasts have also rocked a Jewish outreach centre where commandos were attempting to free several hostages.
A 29-year-old rabbi and his wife were confirmed as being among five hostages killed inside Nariman House.
India's foreign minister said "elements with links to Pakistan" were involved in the attacks on Mumbai.
quote:Originally posted by Jhai: a Jewish prayer hall - there's reports of a rabbi & his family being taken hostage.
Not a prayer hall; a Chabad house.
The little boy was rescued by his Indian nanny. The rabbi and his wife (and an indeterminate number (I've seen 5, but also more or less) of others) are both dead.
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quote: A claim of responsibility for this week's attacks - the worst in India's commercial capital since nearly 200 people were killed in a series of bombings in 2006 - has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen.
However, most intelligence officials are keeping an open mind as the attacks have thrown up conflicting clues, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says.
From the previous BBC article.
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rivka, the first site I saw said prayer hall. I'm glad the little boy, at least, is still alive.
The BBC is reporting that the last terrorist in the Taj was killed just now - it seems like that's the last of them altogether. Death toll is currently 154 people, with at least a couple score of those being hostages killed by the terrorists.
There's going to be a lot of questions in the near future, especially if it starts looking like different actions by the response teams could have save some of the hostages (an open question for now). While it currently has a smaller death toll, I think this attack has shaken Bombay and India far more than the train bombings in 2006; the idea that terrorists could hold parts of the city for three days, attack multiple prominent sites, and take down top police officials is far more terrifying than a few bombs that finish the job quickly. It's a good thing that there are no immediate ties to Pakistan, else we'd be looking a war between two nuclear states. Still, I expect civil liberties are going to take a major bashing in India, along the lines of the Patriot Act, and heads will roll.
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