MUMBAI: Indian security officials said Saturday that the operation at Taj hotel has nearly come to an end and all the terrorists have been killed in the operation.
Talking to local media here, Indian National Security Guard (NSG) chief said the security personnel are busy with checking and clearing all the rooms at Taj hotel.
Director General of NSG JK Dutt said at least three terrorists have been killed at Taj hotel.
One of the terrorist, who was stood near the window, was killed when a security personnel shot at him while he attempted to lob a grenade.
“We found the dead bodies of two terrorists inside the hotel lobby. They had AK 47 guns on them,” Dutt said.
However, he added that he can not confirm if the Taj has been cleared of all terrorists as the sanitisation process was still on.
“I can’t say that our operation is over. To make sure that there is no other threat, we are still searching each and every room of the hotel,” Dutt said.
Earlier in the wee hours of Saturday fresh explosions were heard at the heritage hotel.
There was heavy firing and explosions in Wasabi restaurant in the Taj late on Friday night. Two to three terrorists are left and are intermittently firing at NSG.
The level of battle now seems to indicate a last assault at the Taj. There is still confusion over the total number of militants inside the hotel, but there seem to be no hostages or guests inside with them.
The Army said that the NSG was in contact with one terrorist in the old wing of Taj and that the operation in Taj was also in final stages.
There was also report of one injured militant inside the Taj hotel.
According to NSG Director General: “One injured terrorist is still inside Taj hotel. The stage seems to be set for a final operation there and the media has been asked to refrain from doing any live broadcasts from outside the hotel.”
Nariman House encounter ends
The commando operation against the terrorists at Nariman House ended on Friday.
NSG set off huge explosions to ensure no terrorist escaped and combed the building to ensure no more terrorists were left inside.
However, five hostages and two terrorists were found dead inside the building. A Jewish rabbi and his wife were among the dead at Nariman House.
NSG commandos came out of the Nariman House amid cheering crowds. Thousands of people had gathered outside the building. The Rapid Action Force even used lathis to control the crowd.
Earlier, seven hostages were taken out from the building.
After a 39-hour ordeal, the NSG finally got success in flushing out the terrorists from the Oberoi Trident Hotel on Friday.
Describing the mission, NSG chief J K Dutt said, “Both Trident, Oberoi are under our control and both the terrorists present in these hotels have been killed.”
Two AK-47 rifles, one pistol and few unexploded grenades have been seized, the NSG chief added.
According to the police, nine terrorists were killed and one was caught alive. The police said 24 dead bodies were found at Oberoi hotel on Friday, taking the total toll to 30.
At Trident, NSG commandos evacuated the people and they surrounded the Oberoi wing for the final push.
On early Friday morning, three explosions in three hours happened inside the Nariman House in Colaba, breaking the eerie silence.
The building was still in darkness when the Army closed in. Snipers took position at Nariman House. About 100 commandos went inside and helicopters circled above the building to monitor the situation.
At least 200 have been killed in the Mumbai encounter, including 14 policemen and 13 foreigners and 327 people have been injured and the sources feared that death toll may rise even higher. (Last updated at 1035)
this news published by www.apakistannews.com
