Mumbai Attacks: 160 Dead, Over 320 Injured

NowPublic Mumbai Channel A coordinated series of attacks took place across Mumbai on November 26, 2008. Follow updates on this unfolding story from NowPublic members, consult Mumbai resources and emergency information — and tag your stories, photos and videos "Mumbai" to see them featured here.

Smoke is billowing from the Taj Mahal hotel Saturday as Indian forces battle suspected Muslim militants making a last stand inside the Mumbai landmark.

Flames can be seen in several windows on the building's ground floor.

As fighting stretches into a fourth day, the luxury hotel has been wracked by hours of intermittent gunfire and explosions.

Indian forces are keeping up a counterattack with grenades and trading gunfire with what authorities believe is one or perhaps two militants holed up in the ballroom.

New explosions and heavy gunfire can be heard from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai where up to 4 terrorists are still inside.

Indians are used to their Government’s chaotic approach to security, but the first terrorist attack on their soil to target foreigners on such a large scale has exposed it to international scrutiny for the first time.

India’s media led the charge, panning the country’s intelligence and security agencies for failing to anticipate the attack, as well as a series of multiple bomb attacks on Indian cities this year.

“Mumbai Maimed, Nation Shamed” read a headline in the Mail Today newspaper.

“How many blasts, how many attacks, how many AK47s, how many hand grenades does a country have to face?” asked Prannoy Roy, the president and chief anchor of NDTV. “If ever there was a watershed, it is now.”

"Hotel staff (Taj Hotel) told us that three-four terrorists have gone inside. We got the layout from the staff .We also wanted to know what all explosives were held by these terrorists," he said.

There was lot of smoke into CCTV room and entry was not feasible. The staff indicated that terrorists indicated have gone into new building of Taj. When we tried to enter into the building they started to fire and one commando was injured," he said.

Two Americans from Virginia were among the 160 people killed in the attacks on Mumbai, India. Kia Scherr told CNN her husband, Alan, and daughter, Naomi, died in the siege.

The death toll from Wednesday's attacks in nine locations was 160 -- including three Germans, two Americans, an Italian, a Briton, an Australian and one Chinese among the at least 15 foreigners killed -- with a further 327 injured. 

The killed Americans have been identified as Alan Scherr, 58, and his daughter Naomi, 13, from Virginia. They were visiting India with a meditation group and died at the Oberoi.

Maharashtra state official Bhushan Gagrani said the death toll is expected to rise further and includes civilians, military personnel and police, but not the attackers.

Indian TV reports are suggesting that the Nariman House encounter had come to an end, However, Mumbai police commissioner Ghafur has said the operation is not yet over.

The terror attack in Mumbai is going to further deepen the hostile relationship between two South asian nuclear armed nations.

"Hotel staff (Taj Hotel) told us that three-four terrorists have gone inside. We got the layout from the staff .We also wanted to know what all explosives were held by these terrorists," he said.

There was lot of smoke into CCTV room and entry was not feasible. The staff indicated that terrorists indicated have gone into new building of Taj. When we tried to enter into the building they started to fire and one commando was injured," he said.

The exact sequence of events remains unclear, but security personnel are establishing a picture of how the operation was planned and executed.

One of the first targets was the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, where at least two men fired automatic weapons and threw grenades at crowds of people waiting in the main hall.

Shooting starts at Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, one of the world's busiest, handling thousands of passengers each day.

The attacks began around 9:20 pm, when two terrorists armed with AK rifles entered the passenger hall of the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, opened fire and threw grenades,[1] killing at least ten people.[3] Two terrorists held fifteen hostages, including seven foreigners, in the Taj Mahal hotel.[33]

Jasmine Bhurji was one of the first to be gunned down during the Mumbai attacks Wednesday night.  She was a Mumbai resident managing the five-star Oberoi Hotel, having the sad fate of working the front desk that night.

Some reports seem to indicated that British citizens were involeved in the Mumbai attacks.

As the enemies of Pakistan are tightening noose around the only nuclear Islamic state to disarm it on the pretext of being "a failed" state, the Pakistan government has acceded to the request of Indian Prime Minister Mahmohan Singh to send the chief of Pakistan's prime intelligence agency -- Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) -- to India to help investigate the Mumbai attacks.