MUMBAI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Maharashtra Chief
Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh early Thursday said the situation in Mumbai was grave
following a series of terrorist attacks that killed at least 76 people Wednesday
night.
"The situation is grave and we are keeping an eye on
it," Deshmukh told reporters early in the morning.
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A reporter talks on her phone as smoke
is seen coming from Taj Hotel in Mumbai November 27, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
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However, police officials said the death toll was
more than 80 and over 250 people were injured.
The chief minister said heavy security arrangements
were in place and five columns of the Indian Army and two teams of naval
commandos were deployed in Mumbai after the financial capital of India was
attacked in a series of planned and synchronized actions by unidentified groups
of terrorists.
He said central Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Home
Secretary Madhukar Gupta would be in Mumbai along with 200 National Security
Guard (NSG) commandos Thursday morning.
Terrorists struck at least seven places. According to
the police, a group of terrorists opened fire at police and paramilitary forces
outside Hotel Taj Intercontinental in south Mumbai between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30
p.m.
The police and the army have launched rescue
operation to evacuate hostages held by terrorists in the hotel.
Deshmukh assured people that his government would
take stringent action against the culprits. He asked people to remain indoors
and maintain peace.
Patil said two terrorists were killed in gun battles
with the police while at least nine were held.
Small groups of heavily armed terrorists had 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 terrorists have gone in and fired
indiscriminately at certain places. They are still holed up in three places and
gun-battles have been on (with security forces)."
Five people were killed in a bomb blast targeting a
taxi in Vile Parle. The taxi was blown to pieces, police said.
The police officials said firing was on near Taj, a
five-star hotel, where around 2,000 guests and staff were stranded.
The body of a foreign woman guest was recovered from
the Taj hotel and two terrorists were holed up inside the building, a police
official said. She was not immediately identified and her nationality was not
known.
At least 90 percent of the 22-storey building was
plunged into darkness as authorities cut off power in a precautionary measure.
In the wee hours of Thursday, there was an explosion
on the top floor of the legendary hotel, leading to a major fire.
Minutes later, bullets were fired near the Hotel
Trident - another five-star hotel barely a kilometer away from the Taj. Part of
the hotel was said to be on fire. At least 1,000 tourists were inside the hotel,
which is in a high-security zone and lies just behind the Air India and
Maharashtra legislature buildings.
Those trapped in the two hotels included an
unspecified number of foreign guests.
Officials said rescue operations had started and
hostages were being evacuated as the army stormed the besieged hotels.
Suspected terrorists also opened indiscriminate
firing near the railway station, the headquarters of the Central Railway, which
remains crowded almost throughout the day.
As a precautionary measure, authorities suspended
suburban and other railway services. But the train service was resumed early
Thursday, nearly six hours after the station was shut.
Later in the night, two bomb blasts, one in Vile
Parle, a residential suburb in north Mumbai, and another in Mazgaon, also
injured an unspecified number of people, police officials said.
Firing also took place near the Metro cinema, barely
a kilometer away from the CST. An eyewitness said the attackers hijacked a
police vehicle after opening fire at two policemen in the vehicle.
All roads linking south Mumbai with the rest of the
metropolis were barricaded. Elite Rapid Action Force (RAF) were pressed into
action and the targeted locations were cordoned off. A crack team of 200
National Security Guards (NSG) were rushed from New Delhi to Mumbai late in the
night.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the terror attack and assured all
help to the state government.
Schools and colleges will remain closed Thursday
although government will function normally, officials said.
Terrorist hold hostages in Mumbai
hotels
MUMBAI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua)--
Terrorists were reported to be holding tourists and other guests hostages in two
five-star hotels after series of planned and synchronized gunfire and bomb
attacks in Mumbai, the heart of India's financial capital, late Wednesday,
authorities said.
At least 80 people, including a foreign tourist and four
top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured in the serial attacks. Full story
At least 80 killed in Mumbai attacks, little-known group claims
responsibility
MUMBAI, Nov.
27 (Xinhua) -- A little-known group that called itself Deccan Mujahideen claimed
responsibility for the serial attacks that have killed at least 80 people and
injured 250 others in India's financial capital of Mumbai Wednesday night, news
reports said.
Two terrorists were still inside the Oberoi Hotel, one of
the two five star hotels under attack, and commando operation was on. Two
terrorists were killed at Chaupatti, police said. Full story
Four top officers among 10 policemen killed in
Mumbai
MUMBAI, Nov. 27
(Xinhua) -- Four top police officials were among the 10 policemen killed as
security forces took on terrorists here in the early hours of Thursday following
a series of attacks in this India's financial capital, which killed at least 80
people and injured 250 others, authorities said.
Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant
Karkare was among the dead. Two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, additional
police commissioners Ashok Kamte and Sadanand Date, were killed in separate gun
battles with terrorists, the authorities said. Full story
EU strongly condemns terrorist attacks
in Mumbai
BRUSSELS, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The European
Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), strongly condemned the
terrorist attacks in Mumbai Wednesday night , while rendering its support for
the Indian government in the fight against terrorism.
"The European Commission condemns in the strongest
terms the heinous terrorist attacks this night in Mumbai which have cost the
lives of many innocent people and injured others. Terrorism is never justified
and is no means to achieve any goal. We stand by the Indian government in its
fight against terrorism," said the commission in a statement. Full story
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Smoke is seen coming from Taj Hotel in
Mumbai November 27, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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