Terrorist Attack on MUMBAI

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

Bharat Tamore, assistant supervisor at the Taj, was getting ready for his night shift that started at 10:00 PM.   At around 9:15 PM, following his routine, he left home and walked towards the jetty & sea.  There, something unusual caught his eye.  A small inflatable raft (a Gemini) not usually seen where only fishermen boats are the norm. 

Bharat saw 8 young men ("They were young boys really, wearing jeans and T-shirts"  - later stated by British hotel guest), stepping out of the raft, two at a time.  They jumped into the water and picked up a haversack.  They bent down again, and came up carrying 2 more haversacks, one in each hand.  The backs looked very heavy.

They were in their 20's, fair-skinned and tall, wearing jeans & jackets.  Bharat asked them what they were doing there?  They answered "student hai".

2 of them got back into the raft, started the motor & took off.  The other 8 "melted into the darkness"

Bharat Tamore went on to work at the Taj Hotel.  He signed in, changed into his uniform, and began hearing gunshots.  When he stepped out he saw staff running and guests being led out of the building.  Then he realized that the shooters were the same "youngsters" he had seen less than 15 minutes ago at Machchimar Nagar.  It was not until 4:00 AM that Tamore was finally able to get to the police to tell his story.

The terrorists came by boats and struck at 10 places.  The terrorist attacks began between 9 PM & 9:15 PM (9:20 PM has also been given) according to CM Visasrao Deshmukh (Maharashtra Chief Minister) .  Around 200 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos and 65 Army commandos had been dispatched from Delhi to flush out the terrorists.The Navy Commandos were also asked to assist the police.

The firing and bombing started close to the Gateway of India and moved on towards the CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station). The Taj Hotel sits opposite the Gateway of India (a monument n the edge of the Arabian Sea through which the last colonial British troops left after Indian Independence in 1947).  The Taj Hotel (built in 1903) is considered Mumbai's best Hotel and a model of cosmopolitan sophistication.

The attacks occurred at the busiest places.  besides hotels and hospitals, terrorists struck at railway stations, Crawford Market, Wadi Bunder and on the Western Express Highway near the airport.  Several of these places are within a one mile radius of the office of the Commissioner of Police.

Landmark buildings in the Colaba-Nariman Point area ... including the Taj Hotel, the Trident Oberoi Hotel and other tourist attractions & pubs such as Leopold's.  The top floor of the Oberoi was on fire and blood stained bodies were brought out of the Taj Lobby.  The terrorists also took over parts of the Taj & the G.T. Hospital.  They took hostages at various locations.

The explosion on the Western Express Highway, near Centaur Hotel outside the airport, came from a taxicab. 

1. Hotel Taj Mahal - Apollo Bunder
   72º E 49' 48" / 18º N 55' 13"
   
   
2. Hotel Taj Mahal / Opposite Gateway of India
   72º E 50' 02" / 18 N 55' 21"
   
   
3. Colaba
   72º E 48' 55" / 18º N 54' 03"
   
   

At least 18 foreigners:  3 Germans, 6 Americans, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Italian and 1 Japanese;  as well as Israelis, & nationals from Singapore, Thailand, China & Great Britain ... are among the 195 said to be killed. 

300 more are said to be wounded

The Terrorists would ask if a captive were a Westerner or not.  They were looking for British & Americans specifically... & Jewish people.

Mumbai is India's Financial Capitol.

All roads currently lead back to Pakistan

B O A T S

A Satellite phone & global positioning system (GPS) map was recovered from the  trawler "Kuber" found abandoned and drifting 5-6 nautical miles off the Mumbai shore with its entire crew missing... except for Amar Narayan (38) whose body was found on board with his limbs tied, blindfolded, and his neck slit open.

The Kuber is believed to the boat used to launch the inflatable Gemini Dinghies that carried the terrorists from a Karachi Port to the Seafront at Colaba. 

The Kuber had last set out from Porbander, 310 nautical miles from Mumbai on November 13th.  It had a 5 member crew and was owned by one Vinod Masani.  It is believed to have been hijacked near the maritime boundary

3 Speedboats met the Kuber 1½ miles from the Mumbai seafront on Wednesday.  When it got dark, they then transferred to 2 inflatable dinghies.

---

About 8 terrorists came in from the sea off Badhwar park in Colaba in Gemini Craft inflatable boats with a 20 HP engine around 9 PM Wednesday.  One fisherman stopped them and they said "humko tension hai" and pointed their weapons. 

The same fisherman and/or other fishermen also reported seeing 10-12 men split into two groups.  While one group went towards the CST, the others went towards Colaba.

---

Meanwhile, a merchant vessel MV Alpha, was suspected to have carried the terrorists was intercepted on the high sees by Navy & Coast Guard warships on  Thursday evening.  MV Alpha is a Vietnamese registered ship which came to Mumbai from Saudi Arabia on November 19 and left Wednesday night.   it is believed to have transported the terrorists from Gujarat to Mumbai.
 

As of 11-29-2008, 195 are reported dead & 300 wounded.

The terrorists were in constant contact with their controllers in a foreign country during the attack.

Many victims were bound before being executed.

The Indian Police & Soldiers who bravely fought to contain the violence and succeeded after 60 hours of fighting have lost 20 men (count so far)

Questions are being asked regarding reports and rumours that some "militants"
had either checked into the Taj Hotel several days or weeks before the attacks; and, that others ... may have rented an apartment in Mumbai a few months before ... pretending to be "students".

The terrorists communicated with each other using Blackberries.

The goal was to reduce the symbols of Mumbai economic strength to "rubble";  specifically the Taj and Trident, so they could not be rebuilt.  Blowing up the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was the most important. 

Their targets included cafés and other locales frequented by executives and tourists.  Also, the attacks were intended to kill 5,000 people.

10 terrorists held a city of 18 million for 3 days.

9 terrorists killed, one captured.

"911"

(according to a Defense Ministry official)

 "Ajmal", did tell his interrogators
that he and his group of terrorists wanted to be remembered
for an Indian Version of New York City's September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

As recently as September, 2008;  India's Foreign Intelligence Agency received information  that Pakistani based terrorists were plotting attacks ... including a sea attack ... against Mumbai targets.  A boat had been provided to the Taj Hotel for additiional security checks ... and the Taj had even moved its parking lot to a nearby location.  BUT:  one month later, since no attack had occurrred, the additional security had been withdrawn.

that info was related to domestic security officials ... on condition of anonymity... as the person was not authorized to talk publicly about the details.

Earlier this year (2008) the Indian Mujahideen
(with links to Lashkar-e-Taiba)
sent an e-mail to Indian police warning it was planning an attack in Mumbai.

This message was as follows:


However;  Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil, maintains there was no specific warning from any of the central agencies of an attack on either the Taj or the Oberoi.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (The Army of the Righteous) is a Kashmiri Islamic terrorist group with strong links to Al Qaeda.

Through intercepted telephone & radio communiqués both before and during the Mumbai attacks;  it is determined that at least one of the Mumbai terrorists is part of a Lashkar Network. 

BUT:  This group raises cash through British Mosques...
AND according to the U.K. 's "Daily Mail"
the funding came from, or through,  Britain herself.

To the Left
←
is a Mundane Event Chart
done for the time of its Attack

The Indicators are one's that are the simplest to use to assess the Chart;

Which is an Event Chart for the
Taj Hotel ... by its Locale