Oberoi Operation have Rescued 93 Hostages

Mumbai: In a daredevil operation, commandos involved in the Trident Oberoi operation have rescued 93 hostages. The Army is sanitising the entire building even as one terrorist, reportedly, is still inside the hotel. Many of the people who have been rescued are foreign nationals.

A series of explosions have taken place at the hotel, with the latest, last night, causing a huge fire which has put the building in danger of collapse.

Final assault at Nariman House

The final assault at Nariman House has begun. NSG commandoes, who were airdropped onto the roof of the Nariman House are now cautiously descending down into the building. The commandoes have taken positions and are exchanging fire.

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 are part of the daredevil operation.

The direct attack on the terrorists comes after three fresh explosions were heard from the building. The operation is being carried out as the security forces have now supposedly sure that no more hostages are present in the building.

The latest were the three Israelis who were freed early this morning from the building. 2-3 terrorists are reportedly holed up inside the building. Incidentally, the Nariman House is a place that is mostly frequented and used by Israelis and Jews.

Final assault at Taj

Meanwhile, the security agencies appears to be preparing for the final assault at the Taj Hotel as the media covering the event has been asked to switch off the camera lights and stop the live coverage.

A major fire had engulfed a part of the Taj. With flames reaching as high a 10 ft, it is the biggest so far and may seriously damage the building.

One injured terrorist is reportedly holding out at the Taj, with almost all guests having been rescued. The remaining terrorist is reported to be injured and is trading fire with the security forces trying to bring him down.

Zeenews got in touch with Lal Mani, Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Basti, who is holed up in Taj hotel since Wednesday.

In an exclusive conversation, he described the scene inside Taj. The MP said that he can still hear some sporadic gunshots but has not ventured out of his room and has not seen any terrorists.

The death toll has mounted to 132, while 327 people have been injured.

The NSD-DG has said that 7 terrorists have been shot down in the Taj.

Heavy casualty is reported among the Taj hotel staff, including 6 chefs. 17 other staff members may also have been killed.

All communication channels inside all the hotels have been blocked, though it is learnt that terrorists might be keeping in touch with the outside world through satellite phones.

Over 26 explosions have taken place at the Taj, leaving the entire hotel badly damaged 14 policemen including Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare and two other top cops apart from two Army jawans had to sacrifice their lives.

Ten terrorists have been killed throughout the city. Three terrorists have been apprehended so far, with one being identified as Abu Ismail from Faridkot, Pakistan. The other is called Ajmal Amir Kamal.

The Navy and Coast Guard are also aiding the operations every step of the way. INS Kunjali has caught the vessels M V Alpha and Kabir both of which have been caught. They were allegedly used by the terrorists to arrive on the Mumbai coast. Naval choppers Dornier and IAF’s IL 72s have also been deployed.

The terrorists had arrived in Gujarat from Karachi and left for Mumbai last night in M V Alpha. From there they had jumped into speed boats to touch shore in Mumbai.

There were charges that Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba may be involved, but the organisation has denied it.

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 also reported from Hotel Marriott in Colaba.

Nariman House: Exchange of fire at Nariman House, a residential complex with a Jewish prayer hall, was also reported. 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.

Meanwhile, a suspected terrorist is being interrogated, who was held this morning. He is said to be associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a militant group based in Pakistan.

Cache of arms

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

In a related development, the City mall and the Gallenia mall in Navi Mumbai have been evacuated over fears that terrorists who escaped yesterday might target them.

LeT, LTTE deny involvement

Meanwhile, both the LeT and the LTTE have denied responsibility for the attacks.

Abdullah Ghaznavi spokesperson for the LeT has said that the LeT strongly condemns the strike on Mumbai. He said that though the LeT is often blamed for the such incidents, they have no hand in the strike. He said that an Indian group may be behind the attack.

The Indian government has already indicated that it suspects a foreign hand behind the attacks.

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