124 killed, more than 320 injured in Mumbai attack

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At least 124 people, including 14 policemen, were killed in the Mumbai terror strike, the police said late Thursday night.

According to the police control room, at least 110 people and 14 policemen were killed in the terror strike that began Wednesday night. The number of injured is around 320.

Meanwhile, all hostages were rescued from Nariman Bhavan, which lies adjacent to the Oberoi Trident, late in the evening, security officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, the Taj Hotel has been cleared of terrorists. But there was no official confirmation.

Fire breaks out again at Mumbai Taj

A fire again flared up late Thursday at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel here, with huge flames leaping up from the roof of the heritage old wing of the building.

This is the third fire at the hotel after armed terrorists Wednesday night stormed the hotel as also another five-star hotel in the vicinity and a third building in the area.

A fire that broke out adjacent to the domed roof Wednesday night was doused after hours of effort by fire brigade personnel. Another fire broke out in one of the rooms Thursday afternoon and that too was put out.

PM in Mumbai, visits JJ hospital

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here Thursday night to study the situation in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the country's business capital.

From the airport, he drive straight to the JJ Hospital to visit the injured in the Wednesday night attacks on key landmarks including two five star hotels that have claimed 110 lives.

European Parliament members in Mumbai safe: EU official

Brussels, Nov 27 (IANS) A delegation from the European Parliament (EP), including seven deputies who were staying in one of the hotels that was attacked in Mumbai, are safe and will be returning home soon, an official said Thursday.

"We are very much relieved that the French Consulate is now working in close cooperation with the European Parliament to ensure a quick return of the delegation of the European Parliament that was visiting Mumbai and was staying in one of the hotels that was attacked," said EP President Hans-Gert Poettering here Thursday, EuAsiaNews reported.

"I have been personally in touch with them and assured myself that they and the parliament staff are as well as can be expected, and would like to thank all diplomats who helped our delegation in this extremely critical situation," he said.

The MEPs were in Mumbai as a delegation of the EP International Trade Committee. The delegation was led by Ignasi Guardans Cambo of Spain, and included Erika Mann of Germany, Syed Kamall of Britain, Bla Glattfelder of Hungary, Daniel Caspary of Germany, Jan Tadeusz Masiel of Poland and Sajjad Karim of Britain.

Poettering strongly and vehemently condemned "these tragic multiple terrorist attacks" and said this is a crime that cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.

"Fighting terrorism must remain a key political priority for the international community. It is a global problem and a challenge for everyone. We must use all the resources that the rule of law places at our disposal to defeat terrorism together once and for all," said the EP President.

"On behalf of the European Parliament, I would like to convey a message of solidarity to the Indian people and their authorities. We stand with the families of the victims in this time of mourning," he added.

The terror strike in Mumbai, which began Wednesday night, has claimed at least 110 lives and left more than 310 people injured.

Senior journalist feared trapped in Mumbai hotel

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Sabina Sehgal Saikia, a senior journalist, is feared to have been trapped inside the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, which has been targeted by terrorists, her husband said Thursday.

Saikia, a consulting editor with the Times of India, had gone to the hotel late Wednesday to attend a wedding.

"It was 2 a.m. when she last interacted with me. She texted on my mobile that she was trapped inside a bathroom. She happened to be in one of the corner rooms of the sixth floor of the Taj hotel," Shantanu Saikia, her husband and also a journalist, told reporters here.

"Her phone is coming out to be switched off now. However, some analysis done by the mobile service provider Airtel shows that the last signals from her phone were picked up from Raigarh (in Chhattisgarh), which is seven hours away from here," he added.

"I am not sure how her phone reached there - either it was stolen or taken away from her."

"We are not losing hope and believe she will come out hale and hearty," he said.

The Saikias have two children - a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son.

Gunbattle with terrorists continues 22 hours later, fresh blasts

Intermittent sounds of gunfire and explosions continued to break the stillness around two luxury hotels and a multi-storey building as security forces engaged in a fierce gunbattle with hiding terrorists, nearly 22 hours after terror struck prime locations in the city, leaving at least 101 dead. So far seven terrorists have been killed, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

The situation around the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, the Oberoi Trident Hotel and the Nariman Bhavan at Nariman Point - the three places where the battle with terrorists is raging - continued to be tension-filled Thursday evening.

A loud explosion broke out at the Oberoi Trident and flames leapt out of the hotel windows in the evening. There was also a fresh fire at the Taj Hotel, in another section.

Chief Minister Deshmukh told mediapersons that so far seven terrorists had been eliminated in gunbattles with the security forces, as three more grenade explosions rocked the Taj Hotel.

The terrorists struck a total of 13 places in different parts of the city and suburbs, killing at least 101 people and injuring another 288, Deshmukh asserted.

The chief minister said six foreign nationals were killed and seven others have been injured in the terror attacks.

According to Deshmukh, there have been "no negotiations" with the terrorists. He said the operations would continue through the night and even till Friday morning if the situation so warranted.

He said that 800 army personnel, two units of the navy, 200 personnel of the crack National Security Guards (NSG) are involved in the operation to flush out, kill or capture the terrorists.

Extra teams of doctors have been deployed to treat victims at various hospitals. Arrangements have also been made in nearby hotels to provide alternative accommodation to the guests staying in the two hotels.

An eyewitness said that terrorists lobbed a grenade at approaching security forces as they surrounded Nariman Bhavan building and began attempts to storm it. At least six terrorists are believed to be hiding inside Nariman Bhavan, just behind the Oberoi Trident Hotel.

The crisis of hostages at the Taj Hotel ended by late afternoon, but security forces continued their operation to wrest control of the premises, even at the Oberoi Trident, nearly 22 hours after the first attacks.

The combined security operation, which includes the army, navy, National Security Guards, Anti-Terrorism Squad and police, at the Oberoi is expected to be intensified as the personnel carry out combing operations.

While south Mumbai, where most of the attacks took place, remained practically deserted, a few offices which chose to open in the suburban business hubs closed by 4 p.m. and people returned home.

Around 1 a.m. this morning following an SOS by the state government, the Indian Navy sent a team of marine commandos to the Taj and Oberoi hotels.

A defence spokesman said they managed to enter the Taj around 2.45 a.m. and started efforts to evacuate the occupants. However, they faced stiff resistance from the heavily armed terrorists who were well entrenched inside.

In the cross-firing in the night-long operations which still continues, two commandos were injured. The combing operations led to the recovery of a rucksack filled with a cache of arms and explosives.

These included plastic explosives, 8-9 loaded AK-47 magazines, large quantities of ammunition, hand grenades, detonators, batteries, wristwatches for IEDs, foreign currencies, fake credit cards, cash and dry fruits carried by the terrorists.

Navy ships and aircraft have been deployed to sanitize the Arabian Sea areas off the coast of Mumbai and investigate the movements of suspicious sea vessels and crafts with all security measures placed in high states of readiness.

The defence spokesman added that a suspicious looking vessel, M.V. Alpha, carrying general cargo was chased by a naval frigate and a fast attack craft. It was also contacted on radio and ordered to stop. It was finally intercepted and investigated at sea around 12.15 Thursday afternoon.

Naval personnel engaged in checking the antecedents and documents of the ship and her crew, said later that everything was in order. The vessel, registered in Panama, arrived Mumbai nine days ago from Karachi and sailed out of Mumbai Wednesday.

'Two MPs in Taj hotel are safe'

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) Two MPs - Lal Mani Prasad and Jaisingrao Gaikwad Patil - are safe in their rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, said parliament member N.N. Krishnadas who was himself rescued from there by commandos Thursday.

"They are safe at their hotel rooms," Krishnadas, an MP of the Communist Party of India-Marxist from Kerala, told IANS on phone from Mumbai. "They are expected to join us after the entire operation is over," he added.

Krishnadas along with MPs Bhupendra Sinh Solanki (of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Gujarat), Prasad (of the Bahujan Samaj Party from Uttar Pradesh) and Gaikwad Patil (of the Nationalist Congress Party from Maharashtra) were dining at a restaurant together Wednesday night when they saw the terrorists barge in.

Krishnadas and Solanki were rescued by commandos in the morning. "We are now at the Bank of Baroda rest house," said Krishnadas.

The Taj hotel was one of the places attacked by terrorists Wednesday night. The attack spilled over well into Thursday, killing at least 101 people and injuring 285.

The MPs, who are members of the parliamentary committee for subordinate legislation, were to attend four meetings in Mumbai Thursday and Friday. Krishnadas is the chairman of the committee.

Man's body found in small boat off Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The body of a man was found in a small boat off the Mumbai coast late Thursday, and media reports said it could be of one of those involved in the terror strikes on the city.

The Indian Coast Guard found the body, said an Indian Navy official here.

"The body was found 15 nautical miles from the coast in a boat. The boat is being towed to the coast," the official added.

"The finding was reported by the Coast Guard."

Another official said, "We are yet to ascertain the identity of the body."

Terrorists speak Punjabi, pretend to be from Hyderabad: Army

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) More than 10-12 terrorists are still hiding in the three places where fierce fighting is raging on with security forces and the attackers ere conversing in Punjabi language, a senior army officer supervising the operations here said Thursday evening.

He said one arrested terrorist is from Faridkot in Pakistan. He also said the men feigned their identity by pretending to be from Hyderabad.

"We believe that 10-12 militants are still inside the buildings," Major General R.K. Hooda, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa Area, told reporters. "Five-six militants could be in the Taj Hotel and three-four in Oberoi Trident hotel. The rest five could be in Nariman House."

"In the message intercepted by us when the terrorists were interacting between Nairman House and the Taj Hotel, we found that they spoke in Punjabi language. They were trying to pretend to be from Hyderabad," Hooda said.

The senior army officer said the gunbattle was still on between the security agencies and terrorists at the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and Nariman House, which are under siege since Wednesday night.

Asked if the terrorists are from any foreign country, he said: "All we can say is that one arrested terrorist is from Pakistan's Faridkot."

He said at least 35 people, who had locked themselves in their rooms at the Oberoi Trident, have been rescued.

Gunfire still rages as 7 terrorists dead, another call from 'terrorist'

Gunshots continued to ring through Mumbai's iconic Taj hotel and the Oberoi Trident hotel as well as Nariman Bhavan Thursday evening as Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said anti-terrorist operations would continue through the night till morning if the situation so warranted.

Deshmukh told reporters that 20-22 terrorists had struck Wednesday night. Of them, seven had been killed but 13 still remained holed up inside.

The chief minister confirmed that six foreign nationals had been killed and seven injured in the terror attack.

He said there had been "no negotiations" with the terrorists and assured that the operations will continue tonight or even till tomorrow morning if the situation so warranted.

Flames billowed out of a window at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and gunfire could be heard from the Oberoi Trident as security forces prepared to launch what could well be a final assault on terrorists who had been holed up inside for more than 19 hours.

Fire broke out in a fourth floor room at the Taj as commandos confronted terrorists. More than nine gunshots were heard in a quick succession.

While the Taj has been cleared of all hostages, there are an unspecified number of people inside the Oberoi Trident and Nariman Bhavan on Nariman Point.

People could be seen waving from windows at the Oberoi. At least three more grenade explosions rocked the Taj hotel, while one grenade was lobbed at approaching security forces, witnesses said.

All the buildings are within a short distance of each other in prized south Mumbai.

While the crises of hostages and those stranded in the Taj ended by late afternoon, efforts by the security forces to wrest control of the premises from the terrorists continued.

The combined security operation, which includes army, navy and National Security Guards, as well as the Anti-Terrorism Squad and police at the Oberoi are expected to be intensified as the personnel carry out combing operations.

So far, the terror attacks at nine locations in south Mumbai and one in the suburb of Vile Parle have claimed 101 lives, including 14 policemen, and injured nearly 285.

While south Mumbai remained practically deserted, a few offices which chose to open in the suburban business hubs closed by 4 p.m. and people returned the safe refuge of their homes.

Eight more rescued from besieged hotel, over 15 terrorists inside

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) At least eight more hostages were rescued from Oberoi Trident hotel Thursday evening in what appeared to be the end game of a long drawn battle of attrition between Indian security forces and terrorists who have laid siege to it, but many are still feared trapped inside their rooms or are in terrorists' custody.

The commandos of the elite National Security Guard, who are spearheading the entire anti-terror operation, are said to have stormed the hotel and were exchanging gun shots with the terrorists holed up inside.

There may be 16-18 terrorists still inside the hotel, said a rescued foreign national, whose hands was wounded and bandaged.

I cannot say more than this because it night hamper the ongoing operation, he said, while leaving the place in haste.

While another foreign national, who wished not to be identified and was still trapped inside her hotel room, told Times Now on phone: Though I am safe, I have no knowledge what operations are going inside the idea or inside the hotel. The television lines are cut but telephone lines are still operational.

I have contacted my family and have informed them about the situation, she added.

At least 101 people have been killed and 280 injured in terror assaults on landmark buildings in Mumbai, with Indian security agencies engaged in a grim rescue operation of dozens of guests stranded inside hotels that were targeted by the terrorists.

Another 'terrorist' calls news channel, wants talks with government

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) Imran Babar, who identified himself as one of the terrorists involved in the terror strikes in Mumbai, called up a TV news channel Thursday and said they wanted to have talks with the government for exchange of the hostages.

"We want to negotiate with the government. Only then will we let go the hostages," said Babar, who claimed to be from the Deccan Mujaheedin, a previously unknown group that has claimed responsibility.

Claiming to have worked as a medical representative in a multinational company, Babar said these attacks were to avenge the "torture and injustice" faced by Muslims in India.

"Do you know how many Muslims are killed in Kashmir by your armed forces? Give them their freedom, why are you creating such a mess there?" Babar, who said he was 25 years of age, told the news channel India TV.

"How much of injustice can we tolerate? How much can we sacrifice?" he said.

He, however, skirted the query as to which place he hails from.

Earlier in the day, another man calling himself a terrorist and identifying himself as Shahadullah, telephoned the news channel from Oberoi-Trident Hotel claiming that he was from the Indian city of Hyderabad. He spoke in Hindustani with what appeared to be a Pakistani accent.

He told the channel that the attack had been carried out to avenge the 1992 razing of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya and the "persecution" of Muslims in India.

He demanded the release of jailed Indian Mujahideen militants in exchange for tourists taken hostage at the Taj and Oberoi Trident hotels as well as Nariman House in the heart of the city.

The man ended the telephonic conversation saying "Allah Hafiz".

India's worst terror attack in Mumbai began Wednesday night when militants attacked high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station.

At least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured.

The crisis continued Thursday with terrorists holding people hostage in the two five-star hotels.

No timeframe for Mumbai operation: Indian Army

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) As terrorists continued to hold civilians hostage in Mumbai for the second day Thursday, the Indian Army said it had put its best men on the job to flush out the militants but refused to give a timeframe on when the operation would be over.

Do not ask for a timeframe for the operation. But rest assured that the best people are here for the job, Major General R.K. Hooda, the Indian Army's general-officer-commanding (Maharashtra), told reporters here.

He was referring to the gunbattle at the Oberoi Trident, one of the two five-star hotels where the terrorists barged in Wednesday night, soon after landing on the city's coast near the Gateway of India monument with arms and ammunition.

The terrorists are believed to be holding about 30-40 people - Indians as well as Westerners - hostage at the Oberoi Trident.

There are nearly 800 rooms in the hotel and we have to search each and every room. There can be militants there or innocent occupants. We will look out for explosives and dispose them, he added.

Terrorists had struck in at least 10 places in Mumbai Wednesday night, claiming over 100 lives and injuring 285. They took people hostage at the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and Nariman House. The hostage situation was cleared at the Taj Mahal hotel by afternoon, but continued in the other two places.

Lashkar denies involvement in Mumbai terror attacks

Srinagar, Nov 27 (IANS) The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group Thursday denied it had any links with those who carried out the Mumbai terror strikes in which over 100 people were killed.

A caller identifying himself as Dr. Abdullah Ghaznavi called the local office of the Zee TV network and said the LeT had no links with the terror group that had owned responsibility for the Mumbai terror strikes.

"Let (Lashkar-e-Taiba) condemns such acts and we have no link with those responsible for such acts.

"Linking us with the strikes in Bombay (Mumbai) is an attempt to malign the ongoing freedom struggle in Kashmir.

"We demand an independent international inquiry into the incident so that the truth comes out before the whole World," the caller said.

In what is Mumbai's worst terror attack, at least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and three top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured when terrorists struck in a series of planned and synchronised gunfire and bomb attacks in the heart of India's financial capital late Wednesday.

Commandos and terrorists battle in Mumbai: Fresh fire, gunshots

Flames billowed out of a window at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and gunfire could be heard from the Oberoi Trident here Thursday evening as security forces prepared to launch what could well be a final assault on terrorists who had been holed up inside for more than 19 hours.

Fire broke out in a fourth floor room at the Taj as commandos confronted terrorists. More than nine gunshots were heard in a quick succession.

While the Taj has been cleared of all hostages, there are an unspecified number of guests and staffers inside the Oberoi Trident. People could be seen waving from their windows.

Hotel residents talk of chaos, panic and blood all over

New York, Nov 27 (IANS) Manuela Testonili, ex-wife of American pop singer Prince, was among those who along with 200 others were stuck in the dark ballroom of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel for several hours, when terror struck Mumbai late Wednesday night.

"We left everything behind, including purses and phones. There was a lot of panic," she said.

New York-based filmmaker Smriti Mundhra and her parents, who were staying in an apartment near Oberoi hotel, when the attack happened, told CNN that they were all safe. They were given instructions by the police to stay at home with the doors locked and away from windows.

"Just as we were getting ready for bed last night, I heard a little bit of commotion on the street and some police sirens and didn't really think much of it, then my parents came in and told me something was going on in the neighbourhood. So we watched the news and realized essentially there's a terrorist attack happening just outside our door," Mundhra said.

Held up in his room at the Taj Mahal hotel, British lawmaker Mark Abell told CNN that when he came back from dinner Wednesday night the security fences weren't operating. "The hotel shook with an immense blast. Three or four minutes later, there was another large blast, the whole building shaking."

As he looked outside, Abell saw the crowd running. "It was chaos, gunshots, it looked all very, very nasty," Abell said.

Yasmin Wong, a CNN employee who was staying in the Taj, told the news network that she hid under her bed for several hours after she was awoken by gunfire. Wong said she received a phone call from the hotel telling her to turn her light off, put a wet towel by the door and stay in her room until she was told otherwise, CNN reported.

Peter Keep, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur told Wall Street Journal as he saw fire engulfing the Taj hotel. "It's familiar, it's iconic and even if it represents nothing more than a beautiful old building to see it ablaze like that is just shocking," he said.

Farhang Jehani, owner of the Caf Leopold was lucky to have survived the shootout inside his restaurant Wednesday night as terrorists killed people.

Between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Wednesday night, two gunmen who appeared to be in their mid 20s pull out machine guns and opened fire on the restaurant full of evening dinners. The crowd scattered but more than 10 people were shot, he said.

"There is blood all over and not one table is standing. They are all upside down," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Noriyuki Kanda, sushi chef at the Wasabi restaurant in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, was holed up in the hotel for more than 12 hours. He told the Journal over phone from Mumbai he was working when he heard a lot of noise.

"I had only heard gunfire on television before so we weren't sure what it was. Then we heard rapid fire like a machine gun and people rushed in from the bar downstairs and said that four men were shooting people in the lobby," he said.

Kanda and his staff led the customers through the kitchen and the back hallways for employees, some of which were filled with smoke.

Experts, western media points finger towards Indian Mujahideen

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The Mumbai terror attacks could be the handiwork of the Indian Mujahideen and there could be little or no involvement of international Islamic militant groups like Al-Qaeda, say reports in the western media.

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) said in an article Thursday quoting Christine Fair, senior political scientist and a South Asia expert at the RAND Corporation: "The style of the attacks and the targets in Mumbai suggested that the militants were likely to be Indian Muslims - and not linked to Al Qaeda or the violent South Asian terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba."

Fair told IHT: "There's absolutely nothing Al Qaeda-like about it."

"Did you see any suicide bombers? And there are no fingerprints of Lashkar. They don't do hostage taking, and they don't do grenades," she added.

The newspaper, quoted Bruce Hoffman, a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and the author of the book "Inside Terrorism", as saying that he agreed that the assault was "not exactly Al Qaeda's modus operandi, which is suicide attacks".

Fair believes the attacks could be "yet another manifestation of domestic terrorism", the IHT report said.

"The public political face of India says, 'Our Muslims have not been radicalized.' But the Indian intelligence apparatus knows that's not true. India's Muslim communities are being sucked into the global landscape of Islamist jihad," it added.

"Indians will have a strong incentive to link this to Al Qaeda. 'Al Qaeda's in your toilet!' But this is a domestic issue. This is not India's 9/11," IHT said quoting Fair.

In its analysis of last night events in Mumbai, Times Online has observed: "The group that claimed to be behind last night's attacks on Bombay-the Deccan Mujahideen - has not hitherto been heard of in India, let alone in the outside world.

"But it could be an offshoot of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamist group that was also unknown until it said it had caused a series of multiple bomb attacks on Indian cities in the past year."

Commenting on the terrorist attck in Mumbai at multiple localtions Wednesday night, The Guardian in Britain said: "The most obvious suspect will be a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen, an offshoot of the banned SIMI (the Students Islamic Movement).

It claimed responsibility for the bombings in Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad and following the Delhi bombings it issued an explicit threat that Mumbai would be next."

"Although ......(these) killings involved gunmen rather than the bombs used in the earlier attacks, the degree of co-ordination involved points to the same hand at work," it added.

Terror e-mail warns of more attacks

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) An e-mail sent by an unknown group, Mujahideen Hyderabad Deccan, after the Mumbai terror attack has warned of more such attacks.

"We today warn the Indian government to stop the repeated injustice on Muslims and it should return the states snatched from Muslims. But we know that Indian government would not take this warning seriously," said the group in a two page e-mail sent to television channels.

"That is why we have decided that warning will not just remain a warning, we would ensure that it is proved true, an example of which you have seen in Mumbai," said the e-mail.

"Now we will keep on reacting till the time we don't take revenge of every atrocity on us, every insult to us," it said.

Terrorists Wednesday night wreaked havoc in south Mumbai, killing at least 101 people and injuring 250.

We heard gunfire, explosions shook building: Taj hotel staff

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Terror stricken staff members of the iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, which was one of the 10 places in Mumbai attacked by terrorists, Thursday recalled the night of horror, saying they felt lucky to have survived the ordeal.

"A bullet from somewhere just whizzed passed me...I just closed my eyes and instantly ducked," S. Singh, a trainee at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, told IANS.

"When we saw the flames leaping out of the top floors of the hotel, we were stunned and speechless. Some of my colleagues rushed to whichever room was found open and locked themselves inside, shaking with fear," he said.

"We could hear sounds of rapid gunfire at regular intervals. Explosions shook the old stone building, but we were clueless about what was going on," Singh said.

Three of Mumbai's best known police officers - Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar - were killed in the hotel while leading from the front in the battle against the terrorists Wednesday night. The militants killed at least 101 people and left over 250 injured as they went on the rampage in India's financial capital.

Sunil, another Taj hotel staff member, said he was trapped on the first floor while security forces were engaged in a gunbattle with the terrorists.

"It was just unbelievable. I could have never imagined that I would witness such a major terrorist operation in my life. I feel it is God who saved my life," he said.

Atul, a chef in the hotel, said he was near the main kitchen when the terrorists barged in.

"They had apparently come from the back end of the hotel and started indiscriminately firing from automatic weapons. They did not spare the kitchen. They fired some rounds there and also lobbed a grenade. However, we were lucky and survived," he said.

Ship that allegedly brought in terrorists intercepted

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) An Indian Navy ship Thursday gave a chase through high seas to intercept a merchant vessel that is suspected to have brought 10 terrorists to Mumbai for staging Wednesday's synchronised attacks that rocked India and brought Mumbai to a standstill.

"As of now, all that can be confirmed is that the vessel has been intercepted," an Indian Navy officer here said.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) had also deployed two fast patrol vessels and two aircraft to look for merchant vessel, an ICG official said.

"The coastline from Gujarat to Mumbai is being currently patrolled to look for the MV Alpha," an ICG official in Mumbai had told IANS on telephone shortly before the vessel was intercepted.

The most audacious terror attack in Mumbai began Wednesday night when militants attacked high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, the Oberoi Trident Hotel, the Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway terminus.

At least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured in the attacks.

Terrorist-attacked hotels may face liability claims

Chennai, Nov 27 (IANS) The Taj Mahal Hotel and The Oberoi Trident, the two hotels attacked by terrorists in Mumbai Wednesday night, could face sizeable damage claims, says the insurance industry.

"The Law of Torts covers such damage suits if the claimants can prove that the hotel was negligent in providing security. In India, liability policies exclude risk of terrorism," said Rahul Aggarwal, chief executive of the New Delhi-based Optima Insurance Brokers, an online insurance company providing cover against terror attacks.

Tort law is the name given to a body of laws that addresses and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of contractual duties.

"But it is a matter of time for insurers to come out with a cover for humans as well," Aggarwal told IANS.

Added G.V. Rao, chairman of the Hyderabad-based GVR Risk Management Associates: "Hotels may escape paying out of their pockets provided they have taken liability policies covering risks of injury, death to their guests and visitors."

According to him, not many hotels and corporates take a policy to cover themselves against the risk of injuries to or death of visitors to their premises. "It is only the multinational companies (MNC) that take terrorism risk covers," he said.

"Liability insurance portfolio is clocking around 20 percent growth in India and is mainly driven by private insurers like Tata AIG and the public sector's New India Assurance," Rao added.

Both Rao and Aggarwal said there will not be any upward revision in the premium rate for covering terrorism risk as claims under this head is minimal.

At the same time, both foresee more corporates opting for terrorism cover.

In India, the terrorism risk premium pool is mainly managed by the General Insurance Corp (GIC).

Premium collected by the non-life insurers offering terrorism damage risk is transferred to the GIC.

According to Optima's Aggarwal, the terrorism pool size is around Rs.6 billion, and the claims payout around Rs.500 million.

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance managing director S.S. Gopalarathnam said insurers can pass off only the risk of property damage due to terror attacks to the terror pool, but have to take reinsurance cover for covering people.

Taj, Oberoi helpline numbers flooded with calls

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The helpline numbers started by the Oberoi and the Taj Palace Hotels, in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai Wednesday night, have been flooded with calls from worried relatives and friends of the guests of the two hotels.

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and Oberoi Trident Hotel in Mumbai were targets of the terror attack that left at least 101 people dead and over 250 others injured.

"We have been receiving several calls from people who want to know about their friends and relatives putting up at the hotel. We are making all efforts to make all information available to them," a release from the Oberoi Hotels said.

According to officials, about four to five terrorists continue to hold 40-50 people hostage inside the Oberoi Trident Hotel.

The helpline numbers for Oberoi Hotel at Delhi are 011-23890606, 011-23890505 and 09810956888.

The numbers for Taj Hotel at Mumbai are 022-66574322, 022-66574372 and 1800111825.

Commandos and terrorists battle in Mumbai, 101 dead

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Indian commandos fought gun battles Thursday with terrorists who continued to hold scores of hostages after sneaking into Mumbai from the sea and attacking landmark targets in the country's most brazen terror strike that has killed at least 101 people.

About 30-40 Indians and Westerners were in the custody of gunmen at the Oberoi Trident, one of the two five-star hotels the terrorists barged into Wednesday night soon after landing on the city's coast near the Gateway of India monument with arms and ammunition, officials said.

Hostages were also believed to be holed up at the Nariman House, just behind Oberoi Trident hotel. But more than 15 hours after the mayhem began around 9.20 p.m. Wednesday in India's financial and movie capital, police said there were no more hostages at the 565-room Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and commandos were searching every room for hidden militants and possible booby traps.

The other key targets the terrorists, some of them masked, attacked included the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, which during the day is packed with thousands of people, the Cama Charitable hospital, the hugely popular Leopold Cafe at Colaba, the Metro junction and Vile Parle. The gunmen struck at 10 places in all.

"It's a motivated, well planned terrorist attack and they are out to cause damage," said Major General R.K. Hooda of the Indian Army.

Gunshots and minor explosions continued to be heard from the now damaged Taj hotel. A similar blast also took place at the Oberoi Trident hotel.

The well-planned terrorist onslaught, which caught the authorities unawares although Home Minister Shivraj Patil had warned of a possible sea strike two years ago, also left some 250 Indians and foreigners injured.

Among the dead were 14 men of the Mumbai Police who were the first to react. They included Hemant Karkare, head of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad probing the bomb attacks in the state blamed on Hindu radicals. Outwitted, the police hurriedly sought help from the Indian Army.

A stunned international community condemned the wanton killings. US president-elect Barack Obama asked Washington to work with India to root out and destroy terrorist networks worldwide. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Such violence is totally unacceptable." The European Union also denounced the terrorirsts.

Maharashtra Director General of Police A.N. Roy said the security forces would kill or catch the terrorists, who some speculated might be linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and could have sailed from Karachi.

But in Chandigarh, Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi denounced the killings as "barbaric". He said Islamabad had faced similar situations and it would be immature to link the attack to his country.

Witnesses said the gunmen were young, mostly in their 20s and wore jeans and dark colour T-shirts. One of them, calling himself Shahadullah, telephoned India TV channel to say he was from Hyderabad and belonged to a previously unheard of group called the Deccan Mujahideen.

Speaking in Hindustani with an accent, the man said the attack had been carried out to avenge the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya and the "repression" of Muslims in India. He said the hostages would be freed only in exchange for the "mujahideen" in Indian prisons.

With naval commandos joining the anti-terrorist operation, Vice Admiral J.S. Bedi said in Mumbai: "There are four to five terrorists in the Oberoi hotel area and 40-50 hostages. However, we can't confirm that the hostages are all guests at the hotel."

The comments came as the security forces managed to nab one of the terrorists and the Coast Guard chased a mysterious vessel in the sea near Mumbai.

A British national who escaped from the terrorists at the Taj Hotel said the hostage takers were 20-25 years of age. "They were dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts but were very aggressive in their demeanour. They kept screaming they wanted (people) with British or American passports."

Another Briton, Alex Chamberlain, said the terrorists let him leave the Kandahar restaurant at the Oberoi along with other diners after he did not reveal his nationality. He told Sky TV that the terrorists shot a waitress in the arm before allowing diners to take the stairs down to the lobby.

The bloody drama began Wednesday night when the gunmen landed on Mumbai's coast and simply walked into the city after crossing the road. In no time, they commandeered vehicles and sped to different targets, including hotels where they opened fire and hurled grenades at unsuspecting guests.

Indian Communist MP N.N. Krishnadas said after being rescued by commandos Thursday: "I was having dinner with some colleagues when two masked militants barged into the restaurant. They fired indiscriminately. I saw three people being shot. The terrorists left the room soon after."

Most of the dead were Indians, police and hospital sources said.

The authorities ordered a holiday in Mumbai, but the otherwise bustling city remained on the edge. The Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange were also closed.

"This is a most audacious attack. It is a very serious situation," Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

Television footage showed some terrorists holding automatic rifles, near some of the buildings under attack. One looked grotesque, blood oozing from near his nose.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Ghafoor said AK-47 and AK-56 and semi-automatic rifles besides grenades were used in the "coordinated terrorist acts". On Thursday, a five-kilometre radius in south Mumbai, including the business districts of Cuff Parade and Nariman Point, was cordoned off.

Train services resumed in Mumbai Thursday but there were few passengers. There were few vehicles on the roads.

Very well planned and executed operation: Maharashtra police chief

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The terror assault on Mumbai was a "very well planned and very well executed" operation done with great precision and training but police do not know where they came from or which group they belonged to, Maharashtra Director General of Police A.N. Roy said Thursday.

Talking to journalists 16 hours after the unprecedented terror attack that left at least 101 dead and 250 injured, Roy said: "All I can say its seems to be very well planned, very well executed with great precision and training kind of operation. I won't like to put any name unless we have some material evidence."

Roy said there were 12 incidents of shootouts at 10 places in the city and all happened in quick succession.

He also said there were no hostages in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and there were no negotiations on with militants at any place.

The situation at the Taj hotel is under control. There is no hostage-like situation there. We won't negotiate them either and would kill them. Our focus is to kill them or nab them, Roy told reporters.

Right now terrorists are holed up in three places - Taj Hotel, Oberoi-Trident Hotel and Colaba in Nariman Point. NSG commandos are spearheading the operations along with Mumbai Police and the naval commando, he said.

In Taj we are checking the entire hotel room-by-room and floor-by-floor. We are checking and clearing every corner to ensure that no terrorists are left. There were some dead bodies lying in the hotel and are taken out.

As we are going floor by floor, we have not come across any terrorist so far. All the people who were holed up in banquet halls, restaurants in Taj Hotel have been safely rescued last night and early morning.

There are some guests in the hotel rooms. We will check them and clear them so that they remain safe. So far, six bodies have been recovered from Taj.

The entire operation is to try and nab the terrorists holed up in these three places alive so that we can continue the investigations and unearth the entire conspiracy. Till now, five terrorists have been killed and nine suspected people have been arrested,

When asked about the hostage situation at the Oberoi-Trident Hotel, Roy said: "We are now going aggressively at all these places. Wherever these terrorists are holed up, we would either catch them or kill them."

"There is a possibility that some people are hold hostage there and that is why operation is conducted more sensitively. We are going little slow by taking care that no innocent guest is harmed."

"The Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gaffor is himself leading the operations and we are going to get them (terrorists). We are not negotiating them and no such offer has come."

'No hostages at Taj hotel, no talks with terrorists'

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Nearly 16 hours after the first gunbattle broke out between security forces and terrorists in south Mumbai, Maharashtra Director General of Police A.N. Roy Thursday said there were no hostages in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, and there were no talks with militants.

Till now five terrorists have been killed and nine suspected people have been arrested. The situation at the Taj hotel is under control. There is no hostage-like situation there, Roy told reporters.

As of now there is no demand from militants. There are no talks with them. Either they will be arrested or killed, he added.

Earlier in the day, gunshots rang out at the Taj hotel where security forces battled terrorists holding hostages after a night of terror that left 101 people dead and over 250 injured in India's financial capital.

Deshmukh lauds cops' sacrifice, announces compensation

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Thursday lauded the "supreme sacrifice" made by 14 police personnel who were killed in shoot-outs with terrorists here. He announced a compensation of Rs.500,000 for the next of their kin.

"They were great officers who have have become martyrs and sacrificed their lives for the country. The people of Maharashtra will never forget their supreme sacrifice," Deshmukh said.

He announced a compensation of Rs.500,000 for the families of each of the police personnel killed and Rs.50,000 for those injured in the terror shoot-outs.

The state government said Thursday morning that as many as 14 police personnel were killed and 25 injured in a series of shoot-outs with terrorists in upmarket Colaba and Nariman Point areas in south Mumbai.

Among the top officers of the Mumbai Police who fell to the terrorists' bullets include Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Anti-Robbery Squad (ARS) chief and former encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.

The three were highly decorated officers.

Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sadanand Date, who has been seriously injured, was undergoing treatment at the St. George Hospital.

A few police personnel of the Railway Police were also killed in shoot-outs with terrorists at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (VT) Wednesday night.

A 1982 batch IPS officer, 54-year-old Karkare died instantly as three bullets hit him in the chest as he was challenging the terrorists holed up at the Taj Intercontinental Hotel in Colaba late Wednesday night.

Earlier Wednesday night, Karkare led the team against the terrorists at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

He was given the charge of the ATS in January this year when he returned to India after a seven-year stint with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Austria.

An encounter specialist himself, he had solved the blasts incidents in Thane, Vashi and Panvel, near Mumbai, early this year.

It was under his leadership that the ATS nearly solved the Malegaon blasts that killed several people in Sep 29 this year.

Other police personnel killed include Ashok Shinde, Nanasaheb Bhonsle, Jayant Patil, Ramchandra Pawar and M.C. Chaudhry.

The terrorist attack on Mumbai, which began Wednesday, left at least 101 dead and 250 others injured

Terrorists landed at Sasson Dock: Eyewitnesses

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The terrorists who wreaked havoc in south Mumbai Wednesday night had arrived by a boat and moored it at a fisherman's colony by the beach near Sasson Dock, some one km from the Taj Continental Hotel, eyewitnesses said.

The boat carried 10 terrorists and a very large amount of what looked like heavy cartons, the eyewitnesses added.

The fishermen's version corroborates what Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil said Thursday morning that the terrorists arrived here virtually incognito by the sea route. All the targets are either seafront locations or close to the Arabian Sea.

According to some fishermen who were near the beach at the time, they got suspicious about the movements of the 10 people who had arrived on the boat.

"Since they did not look at all like fishermen, we asked them what they were unloading on the beach. One of them said bluntly in Hindi to mind our own business and let them do their own," said one of the fishermen.

He also revealed that while eight of them alighted from the boat, two others went away on the boat.

It was soon after that firing at the Leopold cafe in Colaba in the vicinity of the Taj Hotel started. Later in the night, the police also detected 8 kg of RDX dumped near the Bade Mian eating joint on the road behind the hotel.

PM's trip to Mumbai only after operations end

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Mumbai only after operations by security forces to flush out terrorist in the two luxury hotels are over and matters have become normal, said sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) here Thursday.

The prime minister has been carefully monitoring developments in the city after 101 people were killed in a series of militant attacks when gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades burst into luxury hotels and other landmark buildings Wednesday night.

"Matters are already tense there and a visit of a VIP at this point will be an inconvenient proposition," said a senior official.

With operations at both the five-star hotels being carried out by the elite National Security Guard, the prime minister's election rally in the capital was also cancelled.

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said that he would visit Mumbai along with Manmohan Singh.

"I had earlier thought of going (to Mumbai) in the morning but I was told that the state government wishes that such visits will only be helpful once the operations are over. In the meanwhile, I have spoken to PM... The PM said I go along with him and I agreed," he said.

Two boys claim they saw terrorists coming in boats

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Two boys, working at the Gateway of India, claim they saw the terrorists behind the most audacious terror strike in the country, loaded with big rucksacks alighting at the jetty and opening fire indiscriminately a few minutes later.

"I saw some men with rucksacks alighting from a boat Wednesday night. I asked them where they wanted to go but they retorted it was none of my business," a 13-year-old boy told CNN-IBN news channel.

Another boy, who saw them unloading heavy bags, said: "They were in a great hurry and immediately rushed away from here."

According to intelligence agencies, the terrorists landed at the Gateway of India jetty, across the road from the 565-room Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, one of the seven places in the city they attacked Wednesday night.

After landing, the assailants commandeered vehicles to attack the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, the Leopold caf and entered the Taj and the Oberoi Trident hotels where they held tourists as hostages.

At least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured in the series of planned and synchronised gunfire and bomb attacks in the heart of India's financial capital late Wednesday.

Three of Mumbai's finest cops killed in line of duty

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Among the more than 100 people killed in India's most brazen terror attack are three of Mumbai's best known cops -- Hemant Karkare, who headed the elite Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), 'encounter' specialist Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte.

All three officers, at the heart of crime fighting operations in the city, fell to bullets while battling terrorists at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel. Terrorists had laid siege to at least six other places in the city.

The 58-year-old Karkare, a 1982 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was in the spotlight for leading investigation into the Sep 29 blasts in Maharashtra's Malegaon town. Ten people, including Sadhvi Pragnya Thakur and an army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit, have been arrested.

Karkare took over the ATS in January this year after a seven-year stint with India's external intelligence agency Research Analysis Wing (RAW). Police sources said he had received a threatening phone call saying he would be killed in a couple of days.

Karkare, who has been credited with solving several blasts in the city, had also served as joint commissioner of police (administration) and once headed Mumbai's Economic Offences Wing as deputy commissioner of police.

Salaskar is credited with killing around 75 dreaded criminals in police shootouts. After being out of the spotlight for a while, the "encounter specialist" was given the plum posting of heading of the anti-extortion wing of the Crime Branch.

He is said to have killed 50 terrorists and criminals and was actively involved in the probe of July 2006 Mumbai train blasts in which 209 people were killed.

Ashok Kamte, additional commissioner of police and a 1989 batch IPS officer, was a key officer and had served as the commissioner of Solapur.

Looking at closing operations before dusk: NSG chief

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The elite National Security Guard (NSG) Thursday said that their operations to flush out terrorists at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel had become slow since commandos were sanitising every single room but was confident of finishing operations before dusk.

"The progress at the hotel has become slower since we are checking every room on every floor for any explosives or other suspicious items. As we are moving, we are also discovering bodies and unconscious people," J.K. Dutt, Director General (DG) NSG told mediapersons.

"However, since people have been used as human shields inside the hotel, we are avoiding heavy use of power to avoid collateral damage," he added.

Dutt said that additional enforcements had been brought in to speed up the operation. The progress, however, depended on the resistance they faced, he added.

"We may adopt a change of tactics but are looking at closing the operations at dusk," he said.

The most audacious terror attack in Mumbai began Wednesday night when militants attacked high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station. At least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured.

The crisis continued Thursday with terrorists holding people hostage in the two five-star hotels.

Bags with cash, arms found in Taj hotel

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Two huge bags, one containing a large amount of cash and several credit cards, and another with arms, ammunition and grenades have been found at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, a defence official said here Thursday.

The Indian Navy has deployed 25 marine commandos at the Taj hotel and another 10 at the Oberoi Trident, where terrorists continue to hold people hostage.

So far, 300 people had been rescued from the Taj alone, defence spokesperson Capt. M. Nambiar said.

Security personnel are conducting a systematic search of the premises to look for explosives and arms.

At least 101 people have been killed and 250 injured since Wednesday night when terrorists struck in seven places, including hospitals and hotels, in the city.

One terrorist caught alive, confirms R.R. Patil

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) One of the terrorists who executed the siege at at least seven places in Mumbai has been caught alive, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil confirmed Thursday.

"One of the terrorists has been caught alive. He has been jointly interrogated by officials of the Research and Analysis (RAW) wing, intelligence officials and the police," Patil told reporters.

He said they had not placed any ransom demands with the police or the administration, nor had any negotiation taken place.

"There have been 10-12 terrorists, of which five have been killed and one caught alive. They have been claimed to be at the Taj hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Termius railway station areas," he said.

"We don't know who is behind these terrorist attacks," he added.

Patil clarified that no curfew had been declared in the city though some areas had been cordoned off and people asked not to venture out of their homes.

In the wake of the terrorist strike in Mumbai that began Wednesday night, the army and the navy have taken control of the Hotel Oberoi Trident.

At least 101 people have been killed and 250 injured as terrorists laid siege at seven places in Mumbai, targeting not just the Oberoi Trident but also the Taj hotel just across the road from the Gateway of India as well as hospitals and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (VT) railway station.

Governor appeals for peace as terrorists strike Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir Thursday condemned what he called the worst ever attack on Mumbai and appealed to people to maintain peace after terrorists killed 101 people and injured at least 250 at prominent landmarks in the city.

"This is the worst ever attack on Mumbai, which is the financial capital of India. The city has a cosmopolitan character and is one of the most peaceful cities in the country," the governor said in a statement even as terrorists continued to hold people hostage in two hotels here.

He expressed anguish for the innocent victims and the police officers who died while discharging their duty.

Jamir also expressed the state government's "strong resolve" to bring the terrorists to justice at the earliest.

He appealed to the people of Maharashtra "to maintain peace and solidarity in this hour of crisis for the nation".

Terrorists were young men in jeans: eyewitness

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) A British national, who escaped from the clutches of terrorists who took guests hostage at the Taj hotel in Mumbai, Thursday said the militants were young men of not more than 20-25 years of age.

"They (terrorists) were not more than 20-25 years of age. They were dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts but were very aggressive in their demeanour. They kept screaming that they wanted anyone with a British or an American passport," the witness told mediapersons.

"There were 15 of us and I was really scared since I am a British national. Two of the terrorists, while screaming constantly, took us up the stairs - to the 18th floor. Luckily for us, the room was full of smoke and two of us escaped from the stairs.

"Another three escaped after us but I have no idea about the others. I think about five to seven people are still on the roof," he said.

The terrorists, according to the witness, were carrying a machine gun and one rifle.

The most audacious terror attack in Mumbai began Wednesday night, when militants attacked high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station.

At least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured.

A hostage crisis continued Thursday with tourists and other guests being held by terrorists in the two five-star hotels.

Post terror attack, Hindi news channels' viewership soars

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) While terrorists struck at India's financial capital Mumbai Wednesday night, horror-struck people remained glued to their TV sets, resulting in a spurt in viewership of Hindi channels 10:30 p.m. onwards.

According to data provided by television viwership tracker Audience Measurement and Analytics (aMap), media group India Today's Hindi news channel Aaj Tak recorded a gross rating point (GRP) of 0.9 percent at 10:30 p.m., as compared to 0.3 percent during that time on an average Wednesday.

However, the same group's English news channel Headlines Today recorded only a 0.1 percent increase in viewership ratings, indicating a preference among the audience for coverage by Hindi channels.

The first attack among the many that rocked Mumbai took place around 10:15 p.m. after which the terrorists killed at least 101 people and left over 250 injured since Wednesday night.

News channels began splashing headlines about the terror strikes, at the blast sites as well as at high profile landmarks like the Taj and the Oberoi Trident hotels soon after, leading to peak ratings for Hindi news channels between 11-11:30 p.m.

Apart from Indian channels like Times Now, NDTV India, STAR News, Zee News, Aaj Tak and India TV, among others, international business channel CNBC was also updating viewers with the latest happenings even at 2 a.m. Thursday.

Grim, sensational images of the targeted areas - the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station - were beamed continuously.

The news coverage shown late at night included images of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare and Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashok Kamte, who were shot dead in the encounter with terrorists holed up in Mumbai buildings.

There were also visuals showing two of the terrorists who were heavily armed apart from blood-soaked sites and injured victims.

As per the latest ratings till 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Hindi news channels recorded an average increase of about 0.3 percent. However, there was an insignificant change in the viewership trend among English channels.

The aMap data received has been compiled by considering cable and satellite viewers above 15 years of age, though states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa were not included in the survey.

We will meet terror challenge resolutely, unitedly: Shivraj Patil

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The government was confident of teaching a "fitting lesson" to the terrorists, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said here Thursday as scores of people continued to be held hostage by terrorists in Mumbai.

We are confident that we will be able to secure the freedom of the hostages at the earliest and teach a fitting lesson to the terrorists, Patil said in a statement.

Patil, who rushed to Mumbai Wednesday night after the terror attack, said the country was united against such cowardice acts and terrorists would not succeed in their designs to divide the people.

The terrorists have again challenged the nation by targeting the commercial capital of our country. We will meet this challenge resolutely and unitedly. We must convey a strong message to terrorists that we will not be cowed down by their senseless and dastardly acts, Patil said.

Patil said the home ministry has rushed National Security Guard commandos to Mumbai and they have already joined operations by the army, navy and the Mumbai police for rescuing the hostages.

Expressing grief towards those killed in terror attack, Patil said: My heart goes out to the kin of those who lost their lives in these attacks. A number of our brave policemen made supreme sacrifice in trying to save the lives of innocent people. The country is proud of them.

In what is Mumbai's worst terror attack, at least 101 people, including a foreign tourist and four top police officers, were killed and over 250 injured when terrorists struck in a series of planned and synchronised gunfire and bomb attacks in the heart of India's financial capital late Wednesday.

Mumbai attackers 'based outside' India, says PM

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai, killing over 100 people, were based outside the country.

In an address to the nation, telecast live by state-run television, he said the attackers had come with a determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of India.

Without naming any country, he said New Delhi would take up with its neighbours the use of their territory to launch attacks on India and that this will not be tolerated.

We will take a number of measures to strengthen the hands of our police and intelligence agencies, he said, and vowed to go after individuals and organisations involved in the audacious terrorist strike.

Manmohan Singh's address came a day after a large number of terrorists sneaked into Mumbai by sea and targeted about a dozen sites including two five star hotels, killing over 100 people and injuring 250 people.

He said the killings and injuries had deeply shocked the nation.

I strongly condemn the senseless violence against the innocent people. He said the terror attack was meant to create a sense of panic by choosing high profile targets.

He promised that the government would take care of the medical expenses of the injured.

I salute the courage of the police officers who died fighting the terrorists, he added.

Manmohan Singh promised to bring about police reforms and to tighten existing laws and said the National Security Act will be employed to deal with situations of this kind.

We are not prepared to countenance a situation whereby the safety and security of the citizens is violated (by terrorists).

Most importantly, a federal agency will be set up to go into terrorist crimes of this kind, he said.

The prime minister also urged Indians to maintain peace and harmony in this hour of crisis.

Up against motivated professional terrorists: Indian Navy

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The Indian Navy, two of whose marine commandos were injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists at the Taj Palace and Tower here, said Thursday it was up against a group of "highly motivated" militants.

"We are up against highly motivated forces. My commandos have told me that we are up against professional terrorists who have done their homework well and know how to cause maximum damage," Vice Admiral J.S Bedi, the flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command.

The marine commandos were deployed at midnight following a request from Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph.

"Two teams of marine commandos were deployed in at the Taj hotel. They started checking rooms and floors in what was basically a flushing out operation. Somewhere on the second floor, there was an exchange of fire with the terrorists in which two commandos were injured," Bedi added.

"One of them was seriously injured but is out of danger now. The other suffered splinter injuries," he said.

"Explosives, grenades, shells, AK-47s, knives, dry fruits and ATM cards were also recovered by the marine commandos from the Taj hotel. The teams then withdrew from the hotel and National Security Guards (NSG) took over," the officer added.

"Thereafter, the commandos undertook surveillance on the approaches to Mumbai harbour. We have also sought aircraft from coast guard also for patrolling the coastline," Bedi said.

IANS

Previous reports

101 killed, security forces battle terrorists in Mumbai

Terror strikes Mumbai again, 80 killed

Holiday declared in Mumbai

World leaders stand by India against 'cowardly enemies'

Six MPs feared held in hotel

Top counter-terror officer among nine policeman killed

Obama, US govt, support for India against terrorism



Source: mangalorean.com