Thursday, December 4, 2008

Indiaterror begins with corpses on trainplatform- Conti

Friday, About 7 a.m., Nariman House

Black-clad commandos fan out on the rooftops of the evacuated buildings surrounding the Jewish center and begin laying down covering fire.

A helicopter drops toward the roof. One after another, masked commandos slither down a rope. The helicopter returns with more commandos, then a third time with equipment.

Slowly, the assault team descends an outside staircase and begins clearing the building.

Indian National security Guard (NSG) commandos rappel down from a helicopter onto the roof of Nariman House, which houses a Jewish centre, in Mumbai November 28, 2008. [Agencies]

A small explosion erupts from the house. A few seconds later, two gunshots, a pause, then two more. For hours, a similar pattern is repeated. Holes are blasted in the building as hundreds of gawkers cheer from nearby streets.

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Friday morning, The Oberoi

Dozens of hostages clutching passports are rushed from the hotel into waiting cars, buses and ambulances.

At 3 p.m., the government announces it has killed the two gunmen inside and taken control of the building.

The pair had killed 32 people, 22 hotel guests and 10 workers, and wounded many more.

By evening, more than 100 former hostages have been escorted from the building.

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5:39 p.m., Nariman House

Indian commandos launch a rocket at one of the Jewish center's upper floors, shaking the neighborhood and blowing out windows in neighboring buildings.

National Security Guard (NSG) commandos look down after an explosion on the fourth floor of the Nariman House where suspected militants are hiding, in Mumbai November 28, 2008. [Agencies]

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6:15 p.m., Nariman House

A small group of commandos appear in the street, raising their rifles in triumph. The crowd breaks through police barriers and floods the streets in celebration.

People shout slogans as an Indian National Security Guard (NSG) commando leaves the Nariman House after an operation, in Mumbai November 28, 2008. [Agencies]

Inside the building, nine people lay dead, including the rabbi and his wife. According to Israeli media reports, some are wrapped in prayer shawls.


Overnight Friday, Taj Mahal

Fighting continues at the seaside hotel. Authorities say one, perhaps two, gunmen are still inside. Explosions and gunfire ring out intermittently, intensifying at dawn.

People run for cover as gunshots are fired from inside the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai November 27, 2008. Maharashtra state police chief A.N. Roy said on Thursday that the hostage situation had ended at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, but that there were still apparently hostages in the Trident/Oberoi. [Agencies]

Fire, once again, streams out through broken windows, lapping at the stone sides of the building. Clouds of black smoke rise high above the Arabian Sea. Outside, dozens of reporters crouch in the seaside plaza in front of the Taj, and sometimes a half-dozen TV reporters can be heard at once providing breathless commentaries about the situation. Few bother to take cover.

8:30 a.m. Saturday, Taj Mahal.

After so much destruction it ends quietly. There is no announcement of victory. One minute, there are explosions inside, and a few minutes later a man walks casually out into the plaza out front, a place where soldiers in body armor had been sprinting in fear, and waves for firefighters to come put out the remaining blazes.

The Taj Mahal hotel is seen engulfed in smoke during a gun battle in Mumbai November 29, 2008. Operations to dislodge militants at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai ended on Saturday, security officials said, and at least three Islamist gunmen were killed. [Agencies]

The Taj Mahal siege is declared over, ending three days of terror. It has been 60 hours since the first pair of gunmen walked into the train station.

Outside, bits of burned debris fill the plaza. Strings of white bed sheets, tied together, hang from the windows, reminders of those who escaped. Almost a dozen buses are parked nearby, just a few feet from the Arabian Sea. They are filled with soldiers and commandos finally getting a break.

People ask for autographs from an Indian commando in Mumbai November 29, 2008. Commandos ended a three-day rampage by Islamist gunmen in Mumbai on Saturday, killing the last of the militants after nearly 200 people died in attacks that struck at bastions of the Indian financial capital's elite. [Agencies]

Hundreds of people push their way toward the buses, pressing flowers into their hands.

Relatives mourn the death of Harish Gohil, who was killed by a gunman's bullet at Nariman House, during a funeral in Mumbai November 29, 2008. The three-day rampage and siege by militants on Mumbai's two top hotels and in various parts of the city have killed at least 195 people and is already being described as India's 9/11. [Agencies]

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