MUMBAI SIEGE OVER AS TAJ HOTEL SECURED

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Mumbai: The 59-hour-long terror siege at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel is finally over, with NSG commandos gunning down the last terrorist holed up inside the heritage building.

J K Dutt, Director General of National Security Guards (NSG), told media persons that ‘Operation Cyclone’ at Taj was nearing end and would be formally declared over once his commandos sanitise each and every room of the hotel. The commandos would also make sure that all the terrorists have been neutralised and no explosives are hidden there, he added.

"Three terrorists have been killed (this morning) but we are still continuing our operations," Dutt told reporters outside the 100-year-old heritage hotel in Colaba. "The commandos killed three terrorists after intense gun-battle inside the hotel," he added.

An AK-47 rifle was also recovered from them.

"There was lot of shooting. Grenades were lobbed and explosives were used by the terrorists," Dutt said.

Giving details of the operation, Dutt said the terrorists would set afire the hotel rooms whenever they came under pressure from the NSG commandos.

This was to divert the attention of the NSG, he said, adding that the commandos were, however, undeterred by these tactics and continued their assault resulting in the success.

"We are also looking for any surviving guests, still locked up in the rooms and not coming out for the fear of terrorist attack," Dutt said.

Dutt appealed to the surviving guests to open curtains of their windows to help them identify and rescue them while assuring that NSG has the expertise to neutralise the terrorists from the window.

"The body which was seen falling out of the first floor window was of a terrorist," he said.

The forces had secured the other luxury hotel Trident Oberoi and a Jewish Centre yesterday while maintaining that a lone gunman continued to hold out inside the Taj Hotel at the end of the pitched combat that left 30 hostages dead.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor separately told reporters that four terrorists were holed up at the Taj and they were killed in the last two days.

Over 10 terrorists were holed up in the three buildings – Taj, Oberoi-Trident and Nariman House in the South Mumbai, he said, adding nine of them killed and one captured.

Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, meanwhile visited Taj to survey the damage done to the hotel building during the 59-hour operation.

He was not allowed to enter the hotel, as search operation and sanitisation of the building is still on.

The battle against the terrorists was won after an intense fighting that included grenade explosions and gunfire.

A fire also erupted on the first floor following grenade explosions and exchange of heavy gunfire. It was later successfully doused by fire-fighters.

More NSG commandos were pressed into operation this morning to battle the terrorists, who were believed to be holed up on the ground and third floor. Media personnel reporting from the site were asked to step back as fighting intensified early this morning there.

With the last terrorist killed at the Taj, the situation has been brought under control completely in Mumbai. The security forces had secured Oberoi-Trident Hotel and Nariman House yesterday.

The Taj Hotel building has taken a grave beating due to heavy gunfire, grenade explosions and fire.

There had been continuous exchange of fire between the security personnel and the unspecified number of terrorists inside the Taj Hotel since Wednesday evening. NSG resorted to using grenade launchers within the heritage building to smoke out the militants in the final assault. The forces also destroyed the bridge between the old and the new buildings of the hotel to restrict terrorists’ movement.

Throughout yesterday, the personnel kept evacuating stranded guests from the backdoor and with the help of cranes from the windows.

The death toll in the Mumbai attacks currently stands at 160, including 16 security personnel, with at least 327 injured. The casualties include eight foreigners, while another 22 have been injured.

Eleven terrorists were also eliminated and one was captured yesterday.

The Centre has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.

Nariman House cleared

After a long drawn battle that stretched for nearly 48 hours, the NSG commandos were finally successful in sanitising the Nariman House from insurgents on Friday night.

The news was confirmed by DG NSG J K Dutt after an intensive operation followed up by a thorough search and sanitisation process. Expressing satisfaction over the successful completion of the Nariman siege, he added that he was overwhelmed by the faith and affection shown by the people. “The NSG has refrained from killing innocents and would not shy away from making sacrifices”, he said.

Earlier, two terrorists had been eliminated and only one was holding out on the third floor. But after a sustained attack by the security forces, he too succumbed.

Search operations were then conducted to ensure no remnants of terror.

The commandos had found two bodies on the second floor taking the count of the civilian fatalities to five. It included a young Jewish couple whose infant child was evacuated on Thursday.

The operation had reached a decisive phase following a controlled explosion in the outer wall of the fourth floor of the building that paved way for the commandos to push in and gun down the terrorists. The lights of the area had been switched off and flood lights were being utilized by the forces.

The commandos had gained ground earlier when they were able to clear the fifth floor completely forcing the terrorists to move down. The forces also recovered some ammunition including an AK47 and hand grenades.

But the militants had put up stiff resistance by intermittently hurling grenades.

With dusk fast approaching, the task was cut for the NSG daredevils, who were looking to wrapping up the operations in daylight.

The entire operation took more than 47 hours and was perhaps one of the most difficult to conclude. The building is located in a very congested area and severely restricts movement. Moreover there was a danger of the terrorists shifting to other buildings.

NSG commandos, who were airdropped onto the roof of the building, were given additional ammunition as more LMGs, HMGs and rocket propellers were sent in the afternoon.

Earlier, at around 7.30 am, commandos aboard a helicopter first carried out aerial firing on the top floors of Nariman House and then slid down on ropes onto the roof of the building. Close to 20 commandos were a part of the daredevil operation.

The direct attack on the terrorists came after three fresh explosions were heard from the building in the wee hours of the morning.

Three Israelis were freed early Friday morning from the building. Incidentally, the Nariman House is a Jewish community centre and is frequented by Israelis.

Oberoi-Trident sanitised, hostages rescued

After nearly 40 hours of intense gun battle, security forces finally met some success as the DG-NSG announced that the Trident was fully cleared and sanitised on Friday and that most of the hostages numbering 148 have been rescued from the Oberoi.

Success came soon after the commandos gunned down two terrorists holed up at the five star hotels, however not before there were 32 causalities in total, including that of the two militants.

Showing its resilient spirit, the hotel management announced that they would be reopening their properties to guests in four days time.

Officers martyred

Four top police officials, including Mumbai Police Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, were among the 16 policemen killed as security forces took on terrorists here in the early hours of Thursday, authorities said.

Two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers - additional police commissioners Ashok Kamte and Sadanand Date - were killed in separate gun battles with terrorists following a series of attacks in India 's financial capital, the officials said.

Mumbai Police 'encounter specialist' Vijay Salaskar were also shot dead in another gun battle.

One Marine Commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and NSG’s Commando Chandar were killed at the Taj on Friday.

How it began

Wednesday, 9.30 pm: First attack at Café Leopold:

It all started just before the 9.30 pm on Wednesday at the Café Leopold in Colaba district of Mumbai. Three men pulled out machine guns from heavysacks and started firing indiscriminately, whoever present there.

10 pm: After Leopold, the attackers took a lane which leads to the prestigious Taj Hotel which is just few meters away. The assailants entered the ground floor area and started firing indiscriminately.

10 pm: At around same time when the Taj was under attack, four men with automatic rifles entered the the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) around 10 pm. Two of them started firing towards the crowd, while two others spotted rushing towards the Metro Cinema multiplex via the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation offices and the nearby Azad Maidan.

10.15 pm: Terrorists came outside the Cama hospital fired erratically.

10.30 pm: Just ten minutes after Trident, a loud bang was heard in Vile Parle, which was occurred in a taxi.

Colaba: At Colaba, men carrying assault rifles opened fire inside the Leopold restaurant and also threw grenade at the innocent civilians. Firing was also reported from Hotel Marriott in Colaba.

Nariman House: There was exchange of fire at Nariman House, a residential complex with a Jewish prayer hall. This was the second place that was attacked in Mumbai, where two men came on a scooter and hurled a grenade at nearby petrol pump.

A huge cache of arms was also recovered outside the Taj, including AK-47s, Chinese made grenades, bullets and other assorted armaments. Lots of dry fruits were also recovered from the same place.

The Indian government has already indicated that it suspects Pak-based militants’ hand behind the attacks.

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