[ad#200×200]Mumbai Police today declared Police curfew as the death toll in last night’s explosion and firing in India’s commercial capital reached 100. More than 125 people have been injured while three Police officers, including Mumbai’s Anti-terrorist unit head, were among the dead. Indian news agencies reported that 100 more people are held hostage by the terrorists at Taj and Trident hotels in Mumbai. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital, killing at least 90 people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege today, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
Later this morning, police loudspeakers declared a curfew around Mumbai’s landmark Taj Mahal hotel, and black-clad commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area, apparently the beginning of an assault on gunmen who had taken hostages in the hotel. Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and an unknown number of people were held hostage, said A.N. Roy, a top police official. Officials said at least 6 militants had been killed since the overnight attacks began around 9:30 p.m..
A series of explosions had rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai’s waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning. The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans at the hotels and restaurant, witnesses said. Officials said at least 120 people were wounded. The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
Early today, state home secretary Bipin Shrimali said four suspects had been killed in two incidents when they tried to flee in cars, and Roy said two more gunmen were killed at the Taj Mahal. State Home Minister R.R. Patil said nine more were arrested. They declined to provide any further details. “We’re gong to catch them dead or alive,” Patil told reporters. “An attack on Mumbai is an attack on the rest of the country.” An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim.
source:sundayobserver