Around 80 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and more than 250 wounded as terrorists struck in yet another series of planned and synchronised gun battles flared in Mumbai’s financial district late Wednesday.
Attackers were reported to be holding tourists and other guests hostage in two five-star hotels, the Taj Intercontinental and Trident (formerly Oberoi), confronting the waterfront across the Arabian Sea close to the Mumbai’s crucial landmark, the Gateway of India.
Four top police officials comprising Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, were among the 10 policemen shot down in the gunbattles with the terrorists, police confirmed.
Mumbai’s busiest railway station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) was also among terror targets, where thousands have been evacuated.
Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra Chief Minister said, “This is a most audacious attack. It is a very serious situation and gun battles are still on in at least three places.”
After the attacks, a countrywide alert was declared and all airports were put on high-security surveillance.
Indian stock exchanges were ordered closed as soldiers and local police were attempting to root out terrorists who were reported holding at least 15 hostages, some of them in a hotel building near the Indian Stock Exchange.
Army was called in to control the whole situation and restore the sense of security that was literally shaken the attacks, one of the worst in the country.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Ghafoor said the attacks were suspected to be ‘coordinated terrorist acts’, and added that automatic weapons like AK-47 and AK-56 and semi-automatic rifles as well as grenades were apparently used.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, who hold the home portfolio, confirmed more than 70 people were killed and 250 injured, many of them grievously.
However, the police officials said more than 80 people died in terrorist attacks.
He also said that two terrorists were killed in gun battles with police while nine were held.
It appeared that small groups of heavily armed terrorists sneaked into busy public places, mostly in south Mumbai, in the dead of the night spreading panic in the city.
It appeared that small groups of heavily armed terrorists sneaked into busy public places, mostly in south Mumbai, in the dead of the night spreading panic in the crowded metropolis that has been a target of terror attacks in recent years.
The majority of locations targeted, mostly in upscale south Mumbai, were favourite destinations of foreign tourists, like the Leopold Restaurant in Colaba. The restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.
this news published by www.apakistannews.com
