Terrorism

Arrested terrorist admits to being Pakistani: Police

megha — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:04:29 +0530

All the 10 terrorists, suspected to have been involved in the Mumbai attacks, were trained by ex-army personnel even as the lone arrested terrorist has admitted to being a Pakistani, the police said on Tuesday.

Ajmal Amin Kamal, the only terrorist of the group of ten caught alive, has admitted he is a Pakistani and hailed from the Punjab province of Pakistan, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said.

"The group of ten had come from Karachi by ship, flew an SOS flag in international waters and then hijacked a trawler which they used to come near Mumbai's shores," Gafoor said.

The group of ten had been trained by former army personnel, some for over a year, Gafoor said, refusing to comment on the nationality of the army personnel.

When asked if there was any evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the attacks, Gafoor said, "At the moment investigations are on and if we have proof we shall present it."

He said there was no evidence of local persons involved in the attacks.

After landing in Mumbai, the terrorists broke into five pairs and went to their assigned places in taxis. The police have also said the two blasts which took place in taxis on November 26 night were due to bombs placed by the terrorists.

"Every group had a bomb with them and two of them had kept them in taxis, one which exploded in Vile Parle and the other which exploded in Dockyard Road," Gafoor said.

The bombs placed in the taxis had been concealed under the front seat of the vehicles, he said, adding the composition of the explosives used was still being verified.

Three other bombs had been found - one each near Taj and Oberoi hotels and other at Leopold cafe - and had been defused. The other taxis used by the terrorists had not yet been traced, he said.

"The blasts were carried out only to increase the area of chaos," Gafoor said. The police were also investigating the SIM cards of phones used by the terrorists and where they had been acquired from, he said.

He declined to comment on whom the terrorists were speaking to or the data on the satellite phone found in the fishing vessel 'Kuber' which was used by the terrorists to come near the metropolis.

The police had recovered Indian currency and a fake identity card of a Bangalore college, he said. Kamal had given aliases of the group of terrorists who had come to the financial capital and they were being verified, Gafoor said.

The police were still investigating how the terrorists received information regarding the locations attacked and whether any persons have carried out surveillance of the sites earlier, Gafoor said, adding some persons were being questioned in that context.

When asked about possible links of the terrorists with organised crime syndicates in the city, Gafoor said, "Our options are open and till now no links have emerged. But we are checking."

He denied that the terrorists had any blueprints of the hotel and said they merely would choose strategic positions to attack army personnel. Gafoor also denied that the police had received any forewarning about the incident from Intelligence agencies.

"Following the blast in the Mariott hotel in Pakistan we had received a warning regarding a possible threat to hotels here but there was nothing specific," he said. But there was no recent warning on the use of the sea route by terrorists, he added.

According to him, the police was working in cooperation with international investigating agencies, including FBI and Scotland Yard. A seven-member team of the FBI and one from Scotland Yard had met senior police officials yesterday regarding the terror strikes.

Al Qaida responsible for Mumbai terror attacks?

megha — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:12:07 +0530

Global terror group al Qaida or its various franchisees could be behind the audacious terror attacks in Mumbai, an act which incidentally can also be a part of a larger conspiracy to gain favourable political outcomes for extremists, said a leading US think tank.

US private intelligence firm Stratfor in its latest report has said that "evidence and logic suggest that radical Pakistani Islamists carried out the attack."

While pointing out that it is difficult to pinpoint one particular group, the intelligence firm said, "It could have been linked to al Qaida prime or its various franchisees and/or to Kashmiri insurgents."

Stratfor, pointing out to a larger conspiracy behind the attack said that too much planning and training was involved in this attack for it to have been conceived by a "bunch of guys in a garage."

It said that in the highly politicised atmosphere of Pakistan's radical Islamist factions, terror frequently has a more sophisticated and strategic purpose and hence "whoever invested the time and took the risk in organising this attack had a reason to do so."

Stratfor said that unlike previous occasions when terror acts were traced back to Pakistan, this time around the Indian government is under too much pressure to act.

"As one might expect, public opinion in India is shifting from stunned to furious. India's Congress party-led government is politically weak and nearing the end of its life span. It lacks the political power to ignore the attack, even if it were inclined to do so. If it ignored the attack, it would fall, and a more intensely nationalist government would take its place."

Stratfor said that the US has recently demanded for increased Pakistani cooperation along the Afghan border and therefore, one of Islamabad's first responses to the new Indo-Pakistani crisis was to announce that if the Indians increased their forces along the eastern border, Pakistan would be forced to withdraw 100,000 troops from its western border with Afghanistan.

"In other words, threats from India would cause Pakistan to dramatically reduce its cooperation with the United States in the Afghan war," the report said.

It said that if India does indeed go in for a build-up of troops along the border, the Pakistanis certainly will withdraw forces from western Pakistan and deploy them in eastern Pakistan.

"This will free the Taliban from whatever limits the Pakistani army had placed on it. The Taliban ability to fight would increase, while the motivation for any of the Taliban to enter talks as Afghan President Hamid Karzai has suggested would decline.

"US forces, already stretched to the limit, would face an increasingly difficult situation, while pressure on al Qaida in the tribal areas would decrease," it said.

And hence though not directly, Stratfor said that the terror attack could be a ploy by the al Qaida and the Taliban to hoodwink the world into a major crisis.

Pak for joint mechanism to probe terror strikes

megha — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:31:00 +0530

Bowing to pressure from the US, Pakistan on Tuesday offered to set up a joint investigating mechanism with India to probe the terror strikes in Mumbai and said it would "frame a response" to New Delhi's demand to hand over LeT chief Hafiz Mohammad and other fugitives.

Islamabad's offer comes close on the heels of the Bush Administration asking Pakistan to extend "total" cooperation to India in the Mumbai terror probe. Pakistan is "ready to extend a hand of cooperation" and assist "in every way" in tracing the perpetrators of the Mumbai strikes, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during a brief broadcast on the state-run PTV.

He proposed formation of a "joint investigating mechanism and a joint commission", saying Pakistan is ready to "compose a team to help India" in the investigation.

Qureshi' remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrives in Delhi on Wednesday, said in London that she did not want to jump to any conclusions on who is involved in the attacks "but this is time for a complete, absolute, total transparency and cooperation and that is what we expect (from Pakistan)."

Asked about India's demand for the handing over of 20 wanted terrorists, Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters, "We have to look at it formally once we receive it (list of terrorists) and we will frame a response to that."

India's list includes terrorists like Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Mohammad and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar besides Dawood Ibrahim, who are based in that country and are suspected to be behind terror attacks in India.

Maintaining that "non-state actors" were responsible for the attacks in Mumbai, Rehman said the Pakistan government is "taking all steps within the country and on the borders to ensure that Pakistani territory is not used for terrorism".

A Foreign Office statement said Qureshi had spoken of the proposal to form a joint investigating mechanism during a meeting with envoys of UN's P-5 countries comprising the US, UK, China, France and Russia, EU member states and a select group of other nations to brief them on Pakistan's position regarding the Mumbai attacks.

"Pakistan has proposed to India that a Pakistan-India Joint Commission, suitably composed, be set up to work together on the Mumbai incident.

"The Commission could be co-chaired by the National Security Advisors of the two countries and meet as early as possible for exchange of information and discussions on mutual cooperation in this regard," the statement said.

Pakistan believes that both sides should work together to reduce tension and continue our constructive engagement in a comprehensive manner, Qureshi told the envoys. He said the two countries had made "significant progress in the composite dialogue process towards confidence building".

"Terrorists must not be allowed to undo the gains made. We are convinced that continuation of the peace process and the Composite Dialogue is in the larger interest of the people of the two countries."

The statement said, "While the government of Pakistan stands ready to extend its full cooperation, both sides must avoid blame game and hostile propaganda, which only works to the advantage of the terrorists in their nefarious designs."

Pak doing "utmost" to prevent acts of terror

megha — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:49:33 +0530

Pakistan said on Tuesday that it is doing its "utmost" to prevent its territory being used for acts of terrorism and reiterated that the terror attacks in Mumbai were the handiwork of "non-state actors".

"We believe we are doing our utmost as far as India is concerned," Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters outside parliament after a meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security.

Asked about India's demand for the handing over of 20 wanted terrorists, she said: "We have to look at it formally once we receive it (list of terrorists) and we will frame a response to that."

Noting that Pakistan's top leadership had said "non-state actors" were responsible for the attacks in Mumbai, she said the government is "taking all steps within the country and on the borders to ensure that Pakistani territory
is not used for terrorism".

India has blamed Pakistan-based elements for carrying out the attacks in Mumbai and asked Islamabad to take action against them. Pakistan has denied the charge and asked India to back up its allegations with evidence.

India on Monday handed over two demarche to Pakistan, asking it to take action against the elements responsible for the attacks.

Rehman said Pakistan wants peace in the region and cannot afford this issue of the Mumbai attacks being "converted into a conflict".

"This democratically elected government has clearly indicated from day one its active desire to make and maintain peace in the region, to foster trade and use people's power to transform relations in the region (and) to transform conflict into concord," she said.

Pointing to the sensitivity of the situation, Rehman asked the media in both countries to "refrain from heating up discourse (and to) try to dampen down the discourse of conflict".

The meeting of the parliamentary panel on national security was adjourned till Wednesday in view of a conference of all political parties convened by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The conference will evolve consensus and a common stand on regional peace, particularly with response to the attacks in Mumbai, Rehman said.

When the parliamentary committee reconvenes tomorrow, it will be briefed by the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the defence, interior and foreign ministries on US drone attacks in the tribal belt and the regional security situation.

'US warned India 'twice' about sea attack on Mumbai'

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:00:38 +0530

United States intelligence agencies had warned India "twice" about a potential maritime attack on Mumbai at least a month before audacious terror strikes that has left about 200 people dead and scores injured, media reports said.

"The United States warned the Indian government about a potential maritime attack against Mumbai at least a month before last week's massacre in the country's financial capital," the CNN quoted a US counter-terrorism official as saying.

The American network quoted the official as saying that the warning was issued not once but "twice". A second government source told ABCnews.com that specific locations, including the Taj Hotel, were listed in the US warning.

"US intelligence indicated that a group might enter the country by water and launch an attack on Mumbai, said the official, who refused to be identified due to the ongoing investigation into the attacks and the sensitivity of the information," the CNN added.

"Indian security forces have confirmed to CNN that not only did US officials warn them of a water-borne attack in Mumbai - they were told twice. The area entered a higher state of alert for a week, including tightened security measures at hotels, but those efforts were eventually reduced, Indian officials said," the network, which repeatedly broadcast the story last evening, maintained.

On November 18, Indian intelligence also intercepted a satellite phone call to a number in Pakistan known to be used by a leader of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, believed to be responsible for the weekend attack, Indian intelligence officials were quoted as saying by ABCnews.com.

The Indian intercept also revealed a possible sea-borne attack, it said, citing officials.

Since last Friday, US intelligence agencies have been tracking the phones and SIM cards recovered by Indian authorities from the terrorists involved in Mumbai attacks leading to a "treasure trove" of leads in Pakistan and several possible connections to the US, officials told the TV network.

Officials said one of the cell phone SIM cards may have been purchased in the US but would not provide any more details because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, ABC News said.

The phones also include the same "Thuraya Satellite" phone intercepted in November by Indian intelligence agencies, the report said.

The United States National Security Agency, the report said, has the technical means to retrieve all calls made from satellite and cell phones in south Asia region.

"Once we have the number we will be able to know everyone who was called and where the calls were made from," one former intelligence office told the network.

A US counter-terrorism official was quoted as saying all leads continue to point at Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist group with strong ties to al Qaida.

The group has taken credit for a number of previous terror attacks, including the Mumbai commuter rail system and the Indian Parliament building.

India has the right to go after terrorists: Obama

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:54:40 +0530

Assuring New Delhi of his "steadfast support" in catching the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, US President-elect Barack Obama has said that India has the sovereign right to go after terrorists to protect itself.

"Sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves," said Obama, who takes over from President George W Bush on January 20, at a news conference in Chicago after rolling out his national security team.

The President-elect, who had during the election campaign said that if there was irrefutable evidence of al Qaida leaders and training camps in Pakistan he would go after them with or without Pakistan's permission, was asked if India has that same right.

"Beyond that, I don't want to comment on the specific situation that is taking place in South Asia right now," he said, adding, "I think it is important for us to let the investigators do their job in making a determination in terms of who was responsible for carrying out these heinous acts."

But "I can tell you, my administration will remain steadfast in support of India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice, and I will expect that the world community will feel the same way," he said.

Obama said his newly minted national security team had met Monday "to discuss the situation in Mumbai and some of the challenges that we face in the months and years ahead," and he was "confident that this is the team we need to make a new beginning for American national security."

Obama was a little more circumspect when first asked if India would be justified in going after the terrorists responsible for the Mumbai attack, which New Delhi has said were linked to bases in Pakistan.

"First of all, I think it's important to reiterate that our condolences, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of India, the families that have been affected and obviously we are heartbroken at the deaths of the six Americans that were caught up in this tragedy," he said.

Obama said, "I have spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and expressed these concerns to him; an investigation is taking place."

"I was briefed by Secretary (Condoleezza) Rice throughout the weekend, (and) she's on her way to the region. We've sent FBI to help on the investigation and this is one of those times, where I have to reiterate - there's one president at a time."

Obama said: "We are going to be engaged in some very delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks, (and) so I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment."

"But, what I can say unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands besides me, are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism and that is true wherever it is found," he said.

"We cannot tolerate a world where innocents are killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies," said Obama.

"We're going to have to bring the full force of our power -- not only military but also diplomatic, economic and political -- to deal with those threats. Not only to keep America safe but also to ensure that peace and prosperity continue around the world."

"The situation in South Asia as a whole and the safe havens for terrorists that have been established there, represent the single most important threat against the American people," he said.

Noting the situation in Afghanistan has been worsening, he said: "We're going to have to mobilise our resources and focus our attention on defeating al Qaeda, (Osama) bin Laden, and any other extremists groups that intend to target American citizens."

Pakistan an international migraine: Albright

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:53:01 +0530

Counting many elements, including terrorism and nuclear weapons, in Pakistan as causes of international worries, a former top US official has described the South Asian country as an "international migraine".

"My own sense is Pakistan has everything that gives you an international migraine. It has nuclear weapons, it has terrorism, extremists, corruption, very poor and it's in a location that's really, really important to us. And now with this issue with India. So, I think that the current president and the current secretary of state, who's on her way to India right now, have a very big job ahead of them," said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

"And I also do think that the next president and the secretary of state are going to have to pay a great deal of attention to that combination of issues, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, that all fit together. That's very important to the United States," she added.

In the wake of current tension between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai terror attacks, Albright said that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was trying very hard to deal with the issue.

"There's an agreement that the Pakistanis understand what the issue is. I think that if we have clear evidence and intelligence that is one part of this. And that is the Achilles' heel of everything, which is whether you have actual intelligence."

"I think that he is their president and he is working very hard to try to get control over what is a very difficult place," she added.

Responding to a query on a remark made by President-elect Barack Obama, at his press conference in Chicago, in the wake of last week's terror attacks in Mumbai, the ex-official also endorsed the stand of the incoming US president.

"I think that what President-elect Obama said about the fact that every country, under the United Nations, has the right to defend itself, that is absolutely true. But it's also true that they are investigating everything right now and that it is not appropriate for those of us that are not in the government to comment on this," Albright said on CNN's Situation Room programme.

"I think that sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves. Beyond that, I don't want to comment on the specific situation that has taken place in South Asia right now," Obama had said when asked if India had the same right as he claimed his administration had in going after terror targets inside Pakistan with or without the permission of the government in Islamabad.

Panel warns US bio-attack likely in next 5 years

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:39:03 +0530

The United States can expect a terror attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

It suggests that the Obama administration bolster efforts to counter and prepare for germ warfare by terrorists.

"Our margin of safety is shrinking, not growing," states the report, obtained by The Associated Press. It is scheduled to be publicly released on Wednesday.

The commission also is encouraging the new White House to appoint one official on the National Security Council to coordinate exclusively US intelligence and foreign policy on combating the spread of nuclear and biological weapons.

The report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, led by former Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Jim Talent of Missouri, acknowledges that terrorist groups still lack the needed scientific and technical ability to make weapons out of pathogens or nuclear bombs. It warns that gap can be overcome easily if terrorists should find scientists willing to share or sell their expertise.

"The United States should be less concerned that terrorists will become biologists and far more concerned that biologists will become terrorists," the report states.

The commission believes biological weapons are more likely to be obtained and used before nuclear or radioactive weapons because nuclear facilities are more carefully guarded. Civilian laboratories with potentially dangerous pathogens abound, however, and could easily be compromised.

BBC flayed for not terming Mumbai gunmen as 'terrorists'

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:53:51 +0530

A group of legislators of Labour party has criticised the BBC for not referring to the Mumbai attackers as "terrorists" in its news bulletins but the UK-based news organisation has defended the practice.

The BBC chooses to call such attackers as "militants" or "bombers".

Criticising the news channel, Stephen Pound, chairman of the Labour Friends of India, said: "This is the worst sort of mealy mouthed posturing. It is desperation to avoid causing offence which ultimately causes more offence to everyone. The terrorist term is universal.

"The result is innocent victims slaughtered in restaurants by men brandishing machine guns. They are terrorists and the BBC should call them that," Stephen said describing the attacks in Mumbai where around 200 people, including foreigners, were killed last week.

However, a BBC spokesman said: "This is nothing to do with political correctness. We are not calling them freedom fighters. We are calling them 'bombers' or 'militants'.

"The fact is terrorist does not have a universal meaning. It translates as freedom fighters in certain languages. We are not alone in not calling them terrorists."

"The word 'terrorist' is not banned from the BBC. BBC editorial guidelines are advisory but editors will exercise their own judgement on a case by case basis. The guidelines are aimed to support the BBC's journalism not only in the UK but around the world and to cover a wide spectrum of global and political scenarios.

"They advise that we should report acts of terror quickly, accurately, fully and responsibly but that we should take care in the use of language that we use in our own scripts and reports. No one who has followed the BBC coverage of the attacks in Mumbai could be in any doubt of the full horror of last week's atrocity," he said.

The BBC, however, reported other people describing the Mumbai attackers as 'terrorists'.

"We are implementing the same guidelines as a number of other major media organisations who also do not use the word 'terrorist'. The BBC always reports other people using the word, such as politicians or police chiefs," he added.

Five killed in Assam militant strike

tejas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:46:36 +0530

Five persons were killed on Tuesday and 34 injured as militants exploded a bomb in a train and followed it up with gunning down of a Hindi-speaking couple in the central Assam district of Karbi Anglong.

Suspected cadres of the banned Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) exploded a timed device inside a general compartment of the Tinsukia-Lumding Passenger train, as it approached Diphu station around 8 am killing two passengers, including a child, and injuring 35 others, officials said.

The two passengers who died on the spot were identified as Kamal Singh Teron (26) and Raj Debnath (7).

A woman passenger, Namita Debnath (25), succumbed to her injuries in Diphu Civil Hospital, where the injured were admitted. Two others, whose condition was stated to be serious, were shifted to the Army Hospital at Dimapur in neighbouring Nagaland, they said.

Militants later shot dead Hindi-speaking couple Raju Sahu and his wife and injured their child at Dalamara.

The militants fled after the incident causing panic in the remote village of the hill district, sources said. KLNLF ultras, enforcing an 'indefinite economic blockade' had on earlier occasions targeted Hindi-speaking people of the district.

The KLNLF, enforcing the blockade on national highways and rail tracks, planted the bomb at the entrance of the train compartment ripping it apart, the sources said.

The group claimed responsibility for the blast saying it was in protest against the government's 'apathy' to their demands and peace process.

A person, identifying himself as KLNLF general secretary Thong Teron, told PTI that the group had earlier this year sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi but none responded to their "peace initiative".

Karbi Anglong SP A K Sarma said security arrangements have been tightened in the Hindi-speaking areas where additional forces were deployed, while operations against the KLNLF have been intensified.

Checking and guarding of railway tracks in the district was entrusted to the army and CRPF, Sarma said.

The police had prior information about the militants' plan to explode bombs at Diphu, headquarters of Karbi Anglong district, and Bokajan and Howraghat towns.

Due to intensified vigil, militants failed to plant the bomb in the two towns and instead detonated it with a time device inside the train as it was approaching Diphu railway station, Sarma said.

The bomb could have been planted at either of the three small railway stations of Barlangpha, Langsoliat and Nilalong approaching Diphu.

Sarma said the police had found two bombs at Dokmoka area of the town which was planted by the KLNLF militants. One was found near the district mandal Congress office and the other near railway passenger's waiting room. Bomb defusal squad personnel were informed, he said.

Meanwhile, panic spread in the busy Ganeshguri area near the Dispur capital complex in Guwahati, one of the targets of the October 30 blasts, following a bomb scare inside a Ganesh temple on Tuesday morning.

The main entrance of the temple, adjacent to the state assembly and secretariat, was sealed off and police carried investigation but nothing was found, sources said.

On the other hand, rail movement in Karbi Anglong was not affected as the affected train was on line number three at the approach to Diphu station and not the main line, a Northeast Frontier Railway spokesman told PTI.

The Guwahati-Jorhat Superfast Jan Satabdi Express and a passenger train to Dimapur had been restricted before Diphu but were allowed to move later.

The NFR announced it will pay an ex-gratia amount of Rs 15,000 to the deceased's kin, Rs 5,000 to the seriously injured and Rs 500 to the injured, he said.

Enquiry ordered

The Union Home Ministry asked for a report from the Assam government on the incident. An inquiry has been ordered by the railways into the blast in the Tinsukia-Lumding passenger train, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said.

Admitting lapses on the part of the staff in detecting the bomb, Lalu said those found responsible for it would not be spared.

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta spoke to Assam Chief Secretary P C Sharma and enquired about the incidents and the steps being taken to strengthen security for passenger trains passing through the troubled-torn Karbi Anglong district.

Sources said the Home Ministry was keeping a close watch on the overall security situation in the northeast, particularly Assam, which has been witnessing frequent ethnic clashes.

Muslims worldover rue sullied image

megha — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:29:52 +0530

Smoke and flames billow out from The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: AFP.

Muslims worldover rue sullied image

Mon-Dec 01, 2008

Ramallah / Associated Press

Muslims from the Middle East to Britain and Austria condemned the Mumbai shooting rampage by suspected Islamic militants as senseless terrorism, but also found themselves on the defensive once again about bloodshed linked to their religion.

Intellectuals and community leaders called for greater efforts to combat religious fanaticism.

Indian police said on Sunday that the only surviving gunman told them he belongs to the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The group is seen as a creation of Pakistani intelligence to help fight India in the disputed Kashmir region. Another group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, has also operated in Kashmir. Both are reported to be linked to al Qaida.

Ten gunmen attacked 10 targets in the three-day assault including a Jewish community center and luxury hotels in India's commercial hub. More than 170 people were killed.

Many Muslims said they are worried such carnage is besmirching their religion.

"The occupation of the synagogue and killing people in hotels tarnishes the Muslim faith," said Kazim al-Muqdadi, a political science lecturer at Baghdad University. "Anyone who slaughters people and screams `Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) is sick and ignorant."

In Britain, home to nearly two million Muslims, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, Inayat Bunglawala, said that "a handful of terrorists like this bring the entire faith into disrepute."

A previously unknown Muslim group, Deccan Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The name suggests origins in India.

Pakistan has denied involvement and demanding that India provide proof. In Pakistan, Jamaat-ud Dawa, an Islamist group believed to have ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, denounced the killing of civilians. In Islamic extremist Web forums, some praised the Mumbai attacks, including the targeting of Jews.

A man identified as Sheik Youssef al-Ayeri said the killings are in line with Islam.

"It's all right for Muslims to set the infidels' castles on fire, drown them with water .... and take some of them as prisoners, whether young or old, women or men, because it is one of many ways to beat them," he wrote in the al-Fallujah forum.

In the Gaza Strip, the territory's Islamic militant Hamas rulers declined comment. Hamas has carried out scores of suicide attacks in Israel, killing hundreds of civilians in recent years. However, Hamas has said it does not want to get involved in conflicts elsewhere.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to the attacks as terrorism, but added that the violence is rooted in "unjust policies" aimed at destabilizing the region. He did not elaborate.

India is seen by many in the Arab and Muslim world as a Western ally. For example, Israel has become an important arms supplier to India, angering Muslim Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement carried earlier this week by the Saudi Press Agency that it "strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act." An editorial on Friday in Saudi's English-language Arab News said that "no civilized person ... can be anything but revolted and sickened by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai."

However, Jonathan Fighel, an Israeli counterterrorism expert, said Saudi organizations have been funneling money to Muslim militants in Kashmir.

"This demonstrates exactly the double game and, I would say, the hypocrisy of the Saudi regime," said Fighel of the Israel-based International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

Throughout the Muslim world, the attacks set off soul-searching.

"I think that Muslims should raise their voice against such actions. They should forge a coalition to fight such phenomena, because it harms them and damages their image," said Ali Abdel Muhsen, 22, a Muslim engineering student in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Muslims and Arabs must confront the violence "that is taking place in our name and in the name of our (Islamic) tenets," wrote Khaled al-Jenfawi, a columnist for Kuwait's Al-Seyassah daily.

"Unfortunately, we have yet to see a distinguished popular condemnation in the traditional Arab or Muslim communities that strongly rejects what is happening in the name of Islam or Arab nationalism," wrote al-Jenfawi.

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Cong not politicising terror: Manmohan

tejas — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:23:16 +0530

Emphasising that Congress is not into "politicising" terror, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday sought cooperation of all political parties in fighting the "serious problem" of terrorism.

Addressing an election rally in Hanumangarh, the Prime Minister asked countrymen to rise above religious and linguistic differences to fight the menace.

"I want to tell you that Congress will not indulge in politicising of terrorism. I wish all parties should join hands to help fight terrorism," Singh said.

Noting that terrorism is a "serious problem" faced by the country, he said this was the time for the country to think above religious, linguistic and regional differences.

"This is the time to prove that no matter whichever state we are from, whichever religion we belong to, whatever is our language and whatever our customs and practices, we are first Hindustanis," the Prime Minister said.

Suicide attack kills ten in Pakistan

megha — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:55:00 +0530

At least ten people were killed and many injured on Monday in a suicide attack targeting a check post in Pakistan's troubled northwestern Swat valley, where security forces are battling local Taliban militants.

Nine civilians and a security personnel were among the dead, TV channels reported. A majority of the injured are civilians.

Two vehicles were destroyed in the attack, the latest in a deadly wave of suicide bombings that has claimed hundreds of lives across Pakistan.

The country has witnessed a series of suicide attacks since the military conducted an operation against militants holed-up in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad in July last year.

Former premier Benazir Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber in December last year while a suicide car bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in the capital in September killed nearly 60 people, including the Czech envoy.

Pak must cooperate in Mumbai probe: Rice

megha — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:16:52 +0530

With India blaming Pakistan-based elements for the Mumbai terror strikes, the US on Monday said Islamabad must "follow evidence wherever it leads" and lend "absolute" and "transparent" cooperation in the probe as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed for New Delhi.

Rice and Bush wanted an opportunity "to express the condolences of the American government directly to the Indian government and the Indian people," Rice spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Rice was scheduled to leave on Sunday night for a meeting in London and then travel to Brussels for a NATO gathering. On Wednesday, following the NATO meeting, she will travel to New Delhi, according to her new itinerary.

"Secretary Rice's visit to India is a further demonstration of the United States' commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of India as we all work together to hold these extremists accountable," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

Rice had planned to attend the meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday, with talks focusing on a broad international agenda, including Afghanistan, Georgia and the Ukraine.

From there she was to visit Rome, Helsinki and Copenhagen, but it was unclear whether the trip to India would cancel or only postpone those visits.

Rice spoke with President-elect Barack Obama about India earlier on Sunday, McCormack said. It was the third phone conversation between the two since the attacks. Rice has also been in daily phone contact with Indian and Pakistani officials.

The announcement of Rice's trip came hours after Bush assured India's leader that the US government will put its full weight behind the investigation into the attacks in Mumbai.

Earlier on Sunday, a Republican senator endorsed a campaign suggestion from President-elect Barack Obama - appointment of a special envoy, perhaps former President Bill Clinton, to the disputed region of Kashmir - as the US seeks to ease tensions between India and its nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan.

The Pak connection

The lone gunman captured by police after the attacks told authorities he belonged to a Pakistani militant group with links to Kashmir, a senior Indian police officer said.

India has blamed "elements" from Pakistan for the 60-hour siege during which suspected Muslim militants hit 10 sites across India's financial capital, leaving at least 174 dead.

Bush told India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, in a telephone call that "out of this tragedy can come an opportunity to hold these extremists accountable and demonstrate the world's shared commitment to combat terrorism," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

In addition to the Americans killed in the coordinated shooting rampage in India's financial capital, the foreigners among the dead included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

Bush told the prime minister that "he has directed the state and defence departments along with other federal agencies to devote the necessary resources and personnel to this situation," Johndroe said.

Despite India's claim, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said: "I don't think that this is the time for India or anybody in India to accuse Pakistan. It's time to work with Pakistan. Pakistan is now a democracy.

"India is a democracy. And as two democracies, we need to strengthen each other, rather than fall into the trap of the terrorists, who want us to fight with each other so that they can get greater strength."

India repeatedly has accused Pakistan of complicity in terrorist attacks on its soil, many of which it traces to militant groups fighting Indian rule in the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The US has tried to persuade Pakistan to shift its security focus from India, with which it has fought three wars, to Islamic militants along the Afghan border.

Obama told Time magazine in an interview in October that "Kashmir in particular is an interesting situation ... that is obviously a potential tar pit diplomatically." He spoke of devoting "serious diplomatic resources to get a special envoy in there to figure out a plausible approach."

When asked if that sounded like a job for Clinton, Obama replied, "Might not be bad" and that they had spoken about the issue when they had lunch in September in Clinton's New York office.

The suggestion of sending an envoy won support from a leading Republican senator.

"I would think that might be a good idea because, it appears to me, that we have an interlocking situation of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India," said Sen Richard Lugar of Indiana, top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Asked specifically about Clinton as a possible mediator, Lugar said: "I think he could do a great job there." Lugar and Haqqani appeared on ABC's "This Week."

Nearly 7,000 have died since 2004: MHA

wali — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:35:49 +0530

Nearly 7,000 people have lost their lives during the UPA government's rule since 2004 in over 25,000 incidents, according to latest data available with the Union home ministry.

While the first year of the UPA government saw 6,029 incidents that claimed 1,721 lives, the number of incidents fell as also the number of casualties from the next year onwards.

In 2005, there were 5,709 incidents in which 1,598 people died while in 2006 there were 5,240 attacks that left 1,352 people dead.

In the following year, 4,907 incidents occurred in which 1,215 people lost their lives.

This year till September one, 3,157 incidents took place in which 760 people died.

The figures for the current year exclude the Mumbai terror attacks in which nearly 200 people have died.

Major terror strikes during the UPA period includes the Hyderabad blasts that claimed over 40 lives, Samjhauta Express explosion in which 68 people died and Malegaon and serial train attacks in Mumbai that left over 230 dead, besides the latest Mumbai attacks.

During the NDA period, which saw 36,259 incidents and 11,714 deaths, the major attacks were on Parliament House, Akshardham temple and terror strikes at an army camp in Jammu besides storming of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.

J&K govt employee detained in Mumbai terror probe

megha — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:34:59 +0530

A government employee in Jammu and Kashmir has been detained for questioning after he allegedly received telephone calls from a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activist, police sources said on Sunday.

The LeT, a Pakistan-based terror outfit with links to al Qaida, has been blamed for the Mumbai terror massacre that left 183 people dead, including 22 foreigners.

Shaukat Mamnoo, a junior assistant in the Municipal Committee of Doda, was picked up on Saturday after "he received some telephone calls", police sources said.

Shaukat first got a call from LeT activist Gulla Mamnoo asking him to watch television and "see what has happened in Mumbai". There was another call asking for information "about the welfare of a relative in Mumbai", the sources said.

The police source said: "We are carrying out thorough investigations of all these calls and their interpretation."

Pak top brass meet again to discuss Mumbai attacks

megha — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:34:53 +0530

Meeting for the second time within hours to discuss the fallout of the Mumbai terror attacks amid suspected Pakistani link to them, Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani briefed the civilian leadership in Islamabad about operational preparedness of military to address any eventuality.

President Asif Ali Zardari met Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and Kayani late on Saturday night again after their first meeting ended in the wee hours of the same day.

At their second meeting, which came after Pakistan backtracked on sending ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to Delhi in connection with the Mumbai attacks, the three leaders reviewed the situation that had arisen, following the terrorist strikes in India's financial hub.

Kayani briefed the President and Prime Minister about the operational preparedness of Pakistan's armed forces to meet any eventuality, TV channels quoted official sources as saying.

Kayani informed the civilian leadership that the military was capable of thwarting any aggression, the sources said.

The sources also quoted the three leaders as saying that India should refrain from levelling "baseless allegations" against Pakistan in connection with the Mumbai attacks.

The discussions followed a special meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Gilani, which condemned the attacks as a "barbaric act of terrorism" and termed the menace a "common threat" to both countries.

The meeting said Pakistan will "stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indian people to defeat this common enemy", Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a news conference.

Gilani also telephoned leaders of all political parties, including PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami's Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

He discussed with them the prevailing situation in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, that claimed 183 lives.

Gilani took the political leaders into confidence on the current situation. The leaders assured Gilani of their full support and cooperation at this critical juncture, said an official statement.

At the same time, Qureshi spoke with his counterparts from China and UAE and the European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

Qureshi said Pakistan had strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. He said Pakistan would extend all possible assistance to India in this hour of grief. "Terrorism is a menace to humanity and it must be eliminated," he said.

The interlocutors "appreciated Pakistan's stance and lauded its role in the war on terror," said a statement from the Foreign Office.

Earlier on Saturday, the Pakistan government did a U-turn on sending the ISI chief to India apparently under pressure from the powerful army and decided to depute a senior official of the spy agency for the task.

Cry, my beloved Mumbai! It won't be the same anymore

megha — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:30:08 +0530

People sit near the waterfront, backdropped by the Taj Mahal hotel, post Nov 26 terror attacks in Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: AP.

Cry, my beloved Mumbai! It won't be the same anymore

Sun-Nov 30, 2008

Mumbai / Mayank Chhaya (Indo-Asian News Service)

Reminiscing of the Bombay of the good old fashioned gangsters of the 1980s with any nostalgia may sound gratuitously insulting today.

The worst that the mob bosses then did apart from smuggling gold, VCRs and some drugs was to occasionally engage in internecine gangland murders. Crime happened every day but it largely stayed confined to the underworld. Rarely did it spill over to the streets and fatally co-opt innocent citizens.

Not that there was anything even remotely uplifting about the gangsters then, but seeing Mumbai from 16,000 km away stagger in the face of numbing terror strikes one cannot but think about how dramatically things have changed. The cold viciousness of terrorists and their brutally efficient execution make the gangland killings of yore seem almost benign.

"Apne dhande ka ek usool hai. Aam admi ko chhoone ka nahi hai," (There is one cardinal rule of my business. Do not harm the innocent)," was how Karim Lala, an alleged hatchet man, once described the Bombay underworld's code of conduct.

As CNN covered the multiple Mumbai terror strikes for a straight 30 hours almost to the exclusion of any other news since Wednesday morning, it became clear that the city had been altered forever.

Even though it has had many terror bombings since 1993, there is something insidiously enduring about this one, especially when one looks at a bunch of trendily dressed lunatics wielding some AK-47 like bizarre bling bling and firing randomly.

Among the images that have stayed in my mind is that of a young terrorist in light khaki cargo pants, blue T-shirt carrying a blue duffel bag and an AK-47 walking into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (VT) station.

Take the weapon away and the man could well be a wannabe movie star visiting the city to fulfil his celluloid dreams. That is the whole point of the new brand of terrorists. They do not even look the part in a city whose cinema has for long mastered the art of typecasting people.

It is tempting to believe that Mumbai may well reclaim its innocence of the 1980s despite such a grievous attack on its soul. However, a realistic assessment in the aftermath of the massacre would suggest something more disheartening.

Café Leopold may reopen and bring back its customers, but they will all look over their shoulder at least once. The city's well-heeled will return to their favourite watering holes at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and Oberoi-Trident but not without first anxiously surveying the coming-ins and going-outs.

VT will begin to bustle tomorrow but will miss a heart beat every time an out of the ordinary noise is heard.

Having lived in and reported on the city from all angles some friends asked me how it appeared from afar and how different it seemed after the attacks. Those are hard questions to answer. One is not even sure if they have any answers at all.

Notwithstanding the impersonal nature of broadcast news, one point came across loud and clear - the city had suffered a blow far more debilitating than before. One is bound to hear all the eulogistic references to Mumbai's great "resilient spirit".

This time though one got the sense that the city might have had enough of these attacks. It may well forsake its equanimity and choose to deal with the recurring problem of terrorism with much greater aggression.

There was something surreally normal about the way pigeons, startled by all the explosions, fire and smoke at the Taj on Wednesday night, returned at dawn to their familiar nesting corners. People could take much longer to return to their comfort zone.

(Mayank Chhaya is a Chicago-based journalist who previously lived and worked in Mumbai. He can be contacted at mayank6_@hotmail.com)

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PM vows zero-tolerance policy against terror

megha — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:00:43 +0530

In the backdrop of Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed on Saturday night for a "zero tolerance" policy against terrorism after Congress Working Committe (CWC) asked the government to crush the menace with "all the power at its command".

With the CWC asking the government to take immediate and concrete action to revamp the country's security set-up, Singh promised the party's apex policy-making body of the party that the government would take steps in line with its sentiments.

"The Congress calls upon Pakistan to honour its commitment and prevent the use of its territory for commissison of acts of terrorism against India," said a resolution adopted by the CWC presided by party chief Sonia Gandhi with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by her side.

The nearly three-hour meeting saw leaders emphasising that strong action was needed to be taken in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks to send a signal that India meant business.

The meet wanted the government to take immediate and concrete action to revamp the security set-up to make it more responsive and to ensure that such incidents of terror are pre-empted and prevented.

"The CWC resolves to continue the struggle and to mobilise the people of India in isolating, confronting and defeating the forces of violence and terror," the resolution said.

In an apparent attack on opposition BJP, the resolution said it cautions against the "divisive and diabolic designs" of some forces to politicize the tragedy "in pursuit of partisan political agenda".

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said investigations into Mumbai blasts were on and one Pakistani national has already been caught and further leads could be had in the next couple of days.

Briefing reporters, AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi sidestepped questions whether the issue of fixing responsibility on Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Deshmukh was raised in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and said "only time will tell".

Since the terror strike, the party leaders had been maintaining that accountability needed to be fixed.

The demands for strong action also meant that it was time government set its house in order with some members saying the anger among the people over the attacks could be addressed only if urgent and concrete steps are taken.

The issue of intelligence failure also came up during the CWC meeting. In an obvious attack on BJP, the CWC said the attempt to communalise terrorism is "despicable and unfortunate."

"The CWC is confident that the people of India will reject all those who insist on injecting divisiveness in this hour. Terrorism has no religion and must be condemned in all its manifestations," the resolution said.

"This terror attack has once again underscored the enormity of the threat confronting the country", the resolution said adding "the reprehensible carnage deserves the strongest condemnation.

"The Congress resolves to give a befitting and hard hitting reply to those who dare to challenge the sovereignity of the nation," it added.

"It is a national challenge, calling for a firm and collective response. We appeal to the people of India to remain united", said the resolution.

US forces slay Taliban commander in Afghanistan

megha — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:52:32 +0530

US-led coalition troops killed a Taliban commander dressed as a woman during a raid in southern Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday.

Soldiers killed four Taliban fighters in Friday's operation, including the Taliban commander named Haji Yakub who was dressed as a woman to evade capture, the US military said in a statement.

Yakub directed roadside bomb and suicide attacks against Afghanistan's government and coalition forces in Ghazni province, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Afghan and coalition forces killed 33 militants when their patrol came under attack in southern Helmand province, a military said. The troops responded to the attack with small-arms fire and air support, it said.

In the Ghazni raid, the US said coalition forces discovered Yakub as they questioned a group of women and children inside a compound.

The Taliban commander was dressed in a burqa, a traditional robe that covers the entire body. He was killed when he "attempted to engage the force," the statement said.

Mumbai terror strike - What happened, when and how?

nishtha — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:21:20 +0530

While Mumbai continues to wheeze under terror attacks, we bring you a moment to moment update of how it all began.

The terrorists arrived in Mumbai through the Sasoon dock area in of the many Gujrat fisheries' boats. They then reached Mumbai in a raft via gateway of India. The terrorists are said to be around 15 in number.

From Gateway they moved to different targets.

9:15 PM : They first attacked Leopold Cafe on Wednesday night. About five gunmen reportedly started firing indiscriminately inside the cafe.

A set of another two terrorists bound on a scooter then hurled a grenade at a petrol pump near the Bootleggers club in Colaba. They then entered the Nariman house building and killed two people in it.

9:25 PM : Shortly another attack took place at the Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus where the terrorits kept firing incessantly at the people present and also hurled hand grenades at them.

9:30 PM : The next target was the iconic Taj Hotel near Gateway of India. Here the terrorists entered the hotel through the service door and then started hurling grenades at the guests present before they opened firing yet again at those present.

9:35 PM : The next target was Hotel Trident which was taken hostage.

10: 00 PM : A taxi was ripped apart by a blast in Vile Parle area killing three people.

10: 15 PM : The terrorists then went to cama & Albless hospital in a Skoda car and started firing everywhere. Five people were confirmed killed in the encounter at Cama hospital.

10:30 - 10:45 PM : There were then attacks outside Metro cinema and Wadi Bunder. A blast also occured in the Wadi Bunder area that left 16 people injured and taxi driver dead.

10:50 PM : Police intercept two terrorists around the Girgaum Chowpatty area but were met with relentless firing from them. However, both the terrorists died in the encounter.

Two boat laden with explosives were discovered.

11.47 PM : 2 terrorists are holed up inside Oberoi Hotel. 2 terrorists reach GT hospital. Maharashtra DGP A N Roy advises Mumbaikars to stay indoors. Railways IG KP Raghuwanshi confirms it's a terrorist attack.

11.59 PM : Terrorists enter Cama hospital. Firing reported from there. Trains stopped at Byculla. Firing still reported from Oberoi Hotel. 3 people arrested at Oberoi hotel. Not sure if they are the terrorists.

12: 48 PM : Another blast hits the dome of old Taj Mahal hotel.

1.35 AM : Encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar killed in gunfight with terrorists. Anti-terrorism squad Chief Hemant Karkare killed. Additional Commissioner Ashok Kampte also killed in firing at Metro cinema.

India expresses solidarity with Mumbai

nishtha — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:04:10 +0530

In the wake of terror attacks in Mumbai, NEWSX.com has been receiving messages from readers expressing solidarity with the people of Mumbai.

A visitor, Shruti, wrote: "It is sad that Mumbai again had to bear the brunt of something that we, as commoners do not understand. Another round of people dying a pitiful death and still nobody could avoid it."

Vishal Prasad from Mumbai wrote, "It's a very cowardly act by the humans who are trying to prove their meaningless point, which a common man is not even aware of."

However, along with grief there was anger at the government's failure to avert such a situation from repeating itself.

In fact, most users are sharing their opinions on what the government should be doing in such a situation and what could have been done to avoid it at the first place. However, a sense of responsibility could be seen in the reactions.

A visitor, Sabari, wrote: "Whilst I agree that the UPA have been terribly inept at these matters, I seriously doubt the opposition would've been any better - they seem more interested in curtailing liberties."

Sabari added, "I hope my corner of the country (the south) at least stays relatively sane."

Another visitor, ProgressiveIndian, said it is the lame attitude of the people that lets terrorists become powerful while living amongst the crowd and that everybody has to take the responsibilty to keep their city terror free.

You can also share your views with NEWSX.com, write in to us at manoj.kewalramani@inxtv.in.

FINAL ASSAULT UNDERWAY AS MUMBAI BATTLES TERROR

manoj — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:09:37 +0530

Mumbai continued to be under siege on Thursday night despite a day-long operation by security forces to eliminate terrorists inside luxury Taj and Trident hotels where some 200 people remain trapped amid blasts and exchange of gunfire in the aftermath of yesterday's audacious terror strikes that has cost 125 lives.

Late in the night, there was a major fire in the Trident (Oberoi) hotel where about 200 people have been trapped and terrorists exploded grenades that set the roof ablaze.

The other scene of action was at Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex, where some Israelis have been held hostage by some three-four terrorists.

The hand of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba is suspected in the worst terror attacks in the country but the outfit denied any involvement.

While all the hostages in Taj were evacuated to safety, the situation in Trident worsened with the terrorists involved in a grim battle with security forces.

There were heavy casualties among the staff in both the hotels with Taj alone accounting for 17 of them.

G-o-C Maharashtra R H Hooda said they had done a detailed search of the 395-room hotel but declined to give numbers of terrorists holed up or those trapped.

Among the dead were nine foreigners and 14 police personnel including ATS chief Hemant Karkare and four other senior officers.

Security agencies have sought to blame LeT, one of whose activists was captured alive in Trident. He is said to be Abu Ismail hailing from Faridkot in Pakistan.

The terrorists numbering about 20-25 are believed to have landed on Mumbai shores after a mother vessel dropped them in three inflatable boats.

Seven of them have been gunned down. The Indian navy claimed that they have spotted the mother vessel and giving it a hot chase.

Even as the combing operations were underway, one more explosion rocked Taj which has already suffered several grenade blasts setting several rooms ablaze.

Taj GM's family killed

Taj general manager KS Kang lost his wife and two children in one of the fires set off by the terrorists. Elite commandoes of the topline security forces from army, navy, NSG and Rapid Action Force were involved in the raging encounter with the heavily-armed terrorists in the two hotels.

As dusk fell, there was expectation that the forces would intensify their assault to overwhelm the terrorists who struck in ten places across the city. About 300 people were injured.

One of the army officials was quoted as saying that the terrorists spoke Punjabi and could be from Pakistan's Punjab.

State Home Minister RR Patil said authorities had "vital clues" about the attacks but gave no details. The foreigners killed in the incidents included one each from Britain, Japan, Australia and Italy. There were unconfirmed reports about two US nationals being among those killed.

A number of people, including MPs Lalmani Prasad (BSP) and Jaisingh Gaekwad (BJP) were stuck at Taj hotel.

Navy hunts 'terror ship'

Navy and Coast Guard are on the hot pursuit of a vessel which is suspected to have helped the terrorist in reaching the Mumbai coast.

Three Donnier aircrafts and Chetak helicopters have been also pressed into service. A few vessels were intercepted but the Navy did not find anything objectionable on Board.

Sources say that Indian Navy's 'Leander' class frigate Vindhyagiri is chasing a suspected terrorist vessel off the Mumbai coastline.

Navy Sources earlier said a trawler or merchant vessel may have dropped speed boats which were used by the terrorists. Highly placed sources reveal that the attackers suspected to be from Pakistan may have come in a merchant vessel.

IB sources say that the terrorists had used the Rann of Kutch as their base.

Also Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP leader LK Advani are visiting Mumbai on Thursday to take stock of the situation.

A city under siege

The city, on Thursday, is witnessing unprecedented scenes of siren-wailing fire tenders dousing flames in the Taj in the morning and police vans carrying reinforcements.

Personnel also escorted the guests at the Taj and other two sites to the parked BEST buses which took them to safe destinations. Among them were a child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai.

All the major roads in south Mumbai have been sealed with police placing barricades and parking their official vehicles on the roads to block the way.

The Army has deployed 10 columns of troops in the city and the Air Force has stationed seven aircraft and three helicopters to airlift troops to Mumbai. Also, 200 more NSG commandos are being sent to Mumbai.

Deccan Muhajideen responsible?

As the fighting rages on and a hitherto unknown group called the Deccan Muhajideen has claimed responsibility in a mail to certain media outlets, security officials have said that there have been no demands from the terrorists holding the hostages.

As per unconfirmed reports, the e-mail was sent through a proxy server in Russia.

Diplomatic sources have said that the attacks in Mumbai were a continuation of the recent blast at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad and that foreign nationals were the targets. As per reports, the British and American intelligence agencies have also now joined their Indian counterparts in probe.

Among the other areas that have been in the line of fire since last night, the Bootleggers bar in Colaba is calm but still under heavy security cover and a curfew has been declared in the area.

Reports from the GT Hospital say that the terrorists there have been driven out and the situation is under control. Also the NSG has confirmed the use of RDX in the Ville Parle taxi blast, which took place on Wednesday night.

As last night's terror incidents spread a sense of panic and fear in the metropolis, schools and colleges were ordered closed and the Bombay Stock Exchange will not function on Thursday.

Suburban trains and city buses operated normally but without usual rush. Except for cancellation of three international flights, domestic air services to Mumbai were maintained.

RR Patil has also announced Rs five lakh compensation for the kin of those killed in the attacks and Rs 50,000 for those who have been seriously injured.

'War' against India

Meanwhile, the government has now equated the attacks to a "war" thrust upon the nation and vowed to give a "befitting" reply to the perpetrators.

"We are considering the terrorists attack in Mumbai as a war and dealing the situation like war-time emergency," Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters.

Jaiswal said all necessary action was being taken to get to the bottom of the incident and arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

"The Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) himself has been monitoring the situation since last night and is constantly in touch with the Chief Minister (Vilasrao Deshmukh)," he said.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reviewed the country's overall security scenario on Thursday. Home Minister Shivraj Patil and the NSA briefed the meeting.

The Cabinet assured that adequate security will be made available and that the defence forces have been alerted. Thereafter, Defence Minister AK Antony met the three Defence chiefs.

As per reports, Delhi, Goa, West Bengal and Orissa have been put on high alert in the wake of the attacks in Mumbai.

PM vows action

As the operations continued in Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the nation.

Just before leaving for Mumbai, the prime minister asked the people to remain calm and maintain harmony in the face of terror and assured that the government would take the strongest action possible against the assailants.

While saluting the security forces, Singh said that the National Security Act will be enforced so that terrorists cannot escape the clutches of law.

He also said that the groups that had attacked Mumbai were based outside the country and assued that India will take up with neighbours use of their territory to launch attacks.

While calling for the formation of a Federal Investigation Authority to fight terror in a co-ordinated manner, the prime minister assured that a number of measures will be taken to strengthen the security forces to battle terror.

BJP puts politics on hold

While the government takes stock of the matter, the main opposition, the BJP - which has been attacking the Congress over its handling of the internal security situation - on Thursday said that it will refrain from being critical of the government at this juncture in view of the Mumbai terror strikes which it termed as a "national crisis."

BJP Chief Rajnath Singh spoke to party Prime Ministerial candidate LK Advani this morning over phone from Jaipur and decided "not go critical" of the government on the issue "in this time of crisis", the party said.

The party also asked the people to rise above political affiliations and stand by the security forces in their fight against terror.

"It is a time of national crisis. The country has been challenged. It is time for us to rise above politics. There is no government side or opposition side. Our top leadership has decided to stand by all steps to defeat the forces who challenge our sovereignty," BJP Vice President Mukthar Abbas Naqvi told PTI.

Addressing the country on Thursday, Advani said that the terror attacks in Mumbai were a challenge that the nation must face resolutely, calmly and unitedly.

"The Prime Minister called me this morning and suggested that we should travel together to Mumbai to examine the situation and express solidarity with the security forces, to which I readily agreed," Advani said.

The BJP leader also added that based on his assessment after discussions with security agencies, such an attack would require around two months of extensive planning on part of the terrorists.

The BJP's prime ministerial candidate also said that the security officials had battled terror with valour and saluted the martyrs of India, with a special mention for ATS chief Hemant Karkare.

England tour in doubt

The immediate fallout of the attacks has seen the England cricket team, which is currently touring India, deciding to call off the tour. India is currently leading the 7-match series 5-0, with Test matches scheduled for later on.

Reports say that the BCCI and the ECB have agreed to the postponement of the remaining two ODIs.

This is the first time ever that a tour to India has been altered in such a manner due to security concerns, raising concerns about the immediate future of the game in the sub-continent.

Moreover, the T20 Champions League cricket tournament, which was scheduled for December, has now been postponed.

Also, from the Indian perspective, the upcoming Indian tour to Pakistan is also in doubt.

Passengers fail to reach airport, three flights cancelled

nishtha — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:32:01 +0530

Three international flights were cancelled and very few passengers were seen at the airport in Mumbai this morning hours after the terror attack.

Three international flights of Lufthansa, Air France North West were cancelled last night as the crew failed to reach the airport following the terrorist strike. Very few passengers arrived this morning at the airport, sources in Kingfisher airlines said.

They said the passengers for three flights were adjusted on one flight. There has been no cancellation of flights by Air India.

Chronology of terror in Mumbai

nishtha — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:10:30 +0530

Mumbai has been victim to four major terrorist attacks in the 15 years.

* March 12, 1993: 257 people were killed and 700 injured when a series of bomb blasts ripped Mumbai. Various prominent properties such as Bombay Stock Exchange, passport office, hotels, Sahara airport and theatres were under attack.

* Aug 25, 2003: 46 people killed in two blasts including one at the Gateway of India.

* July 11, 2006: More than 200 people killed in seven blasts on the local trains and stations in Mumbai.

* Nov 26, 2008: Many people were killed and injured in seven attacks targeting places frequented by foreigners.