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Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

Shiloh

Editor, Senior Moderator
This is an ongoing situation:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7751160.stm

Mumbai rocked by deadly shootings

Gunmen have opened fire at a number of sites in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing dozens of people and injuring many more, local reports say.

Police said shooting was continuing and that the incidents appeared to be terrorist attacks. Reports say gunmen have taken hostages at a luxury hotel.

Unconfirmed reports said 80 people had been killed, and more than 250 injured.

There has been a wave of bombings in Indian cities in recent months which has left scores of people dead.

Most of the attacks have been blamed on Muslim militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists.

Indiscriminate firing

On Wednesday, gunmen opened fire in at least seven sites, including a train station, two five-star hotels, a hospital and a restaurant popular with tourists.
See detailed map of the area

At least two blasts, suspected to be grenade attacks, were reported alongside the shootings.

Police said the gunmen had fired indiscriminately.

At least 10 people were killed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, they said.

"The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed," said AN Roy, police commissioner of Maharashtra state.

Some gunmen were still holed up in buildings that had been targeted, officials said.

One eyewitness told the BBC he had seen a gunman opening fire in the lobby of Taj Mahal hotel.

He said he had seen people fall before he fled the lobby.

"All I saw was one man on foot carrying a machine gun type of weapon - which I then saw him firing from and I saw people hitting the floor, people right next to me," he said.

Gunmen were reported to be holding westerners hostage at the Taj Mahal.

The other hotel targeted was the Oberoi.

One witness told local television that the gunmen were looking for people with British or US passports.

"They wanted foreigners," said the man, who said he was in India on business.

A series of attacks in Mumbai in July 2006 killed almost 190 people and injured more than 700.

Bombs were detonated on commuter trains during rush hour.

Police accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of planning the attacks, which they said were carried out by an Islamist militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Pakistan rejected the allegation, saying there was no evidence that its intelligence staff were involved.

_45244134_mumbai_shooting_sat466.gif
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

Mumbai terror attack: top floor of Hotel Taj on fire

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The top floor of the world-famous Hotel Taj Intercontinental in Mumbai caught fire after a bomb explosion as terroists struck at seven locations in the metropolis late Wednesday night.The 22-storey, five-star hotel by the Arabian Sea was one of the targets of the terrorist attack. An explosion on the top [...]
View Original Article


17 killed in late night Mumbai terror attack (Third lead)

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) At least 17 people, including a foreign tourist, were killed and many more injured as terrorists struck in yet another series of planned and synchronised attacks in the heart of India?s financial capital around midnight Wednesday. Their targets included the city?s busiest railway station and two five-star hotels, police and officials [...]
View Original Article
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

ATS chief, over 50 others killed in Mumbai terror strikes

Zeenews Bureau

Mumbai, Nov 26: Coordinated terror strikes in at least eight places in South Mumbai left over 50 dead, including the Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, on Wednesday night. The number of injured is believed to be in hundreds. All the blasts have taken place in the vicinity of posh hotels in the area, including the Taj and the Trident.

spacer.gif
<!--end of related-box-j-a-->The Mumbai ATS chief who had entered the Oberoi hotel along with fellow officers took 3 bullets from the terrorists? fire. He succumbed to his injuries before he could be taken to the hospital. Two other officers Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar have also been killed in the operations.

The incident of firing has taken place at the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), outside Caf? Leopold in Colaba, Nariman point and outside the Taj and the Tridient, (formely Oberoi) hotels.

The terror strike which began at 1033 PM at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Terminus(CST),formerly known as the Victoria Terminus(VT), claimed 10 lives in the premises of the station alone, police said.

30 persons have been injured at the CST. Commandoes have been rushed to the station. Firing is still on at the station.

Three persons were killed in a bomb explosion in a taxi on Mazegaon dockyard road and an equal number were gunned down at Taj Hotel. Another blast is also reported from the Mazgoan area. The victim in the hotel were its employees. Police and the terrorists are exchanging fire in as many 5 places in Mumbai, including in the Taj hotel, where four terrorists are reportedly still holed in.

The lobby of the Oberoi hotel was on fire and the hotel has been evacuated, eyewitnesses said.

But two terrorists still remain holed up inside the building and have taken about 40 people hostage. A major operation is being planned for the rescue of those still inside.

The Army has been called in to assist the police, while an NSG team is also on its way to Mumbai.

Some people were injured in the firing in Oberoi hotel, and taken to a nearby hospital in police vans and ambulance. Firing was also reported in Taj hotel.

Firing was also reported at Colaba, Nariman Point and near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, formerly Victoria Terminus and it was still continuing.

Firing was also reported at Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, police said, adding that a blast was reported in a taxi under a flyover in suburban Vile Parle.

Director General of Police A N Roy said at least two terrorists were holed up inside the Trident(Oberoi) Hotel where firing was on.

RAF commandoes are in action at the taj.

More than 50 dead bodies are at the St George?s Hospital alone.

Meanwhile, Railway authorities have stopped trains going to CST in view of the firing incidents. Extra forces have also been rushed to the station.

Blasts have been reported from Majhgoan and Vile Parley, outside the BMC office, Nariman house and outside Centaur hotel and at Colaba. All the five deaths have been reported from Vile Parley.

The blast in Colaba was due to an exploding BP petrol pump.

Maharashtra DGP A N Roy said tonight's attack in "at least seven places" is a "terror strike."

High alert has been sounded in Mumbai, and the police has asked the public to stay indoors.

Meanwhile the PM has been briefed about the terror attack, and has met the leader of opposition LK Advani over the issue. The Prime Minister and the Congress president Sonia Gandhi have spoken to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over the incident.

This is the first time that a terror strike of this scale, using firing to supplement blasts, have been mounted on a major Indian city outside of Kashmir.:tiphat: http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-11-26/486700news.html
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

BBC radio just reported that a second 5-star hotel is also under attack and that British & American passport holders are being targeted.

The Taj in Mumbai:
Taj_Mahal_Palace_Hotel_at_night.jpg
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

MUMBAI: About 200 people were on Wednesday night holed up inside a hall in the Taj Hotel here as they were advised by the hotel staff not to go out because of the attack by terrorists.
They are holed up in the hall in the old wing of the hotel since 9.30 PM, when terrorists struck.
Krishna Das, MP, who was among those held up, said they had been advised not to move out of the hall till the police clears the place of terrorists.

He was having dinner with some friends in a restaurant of the hotel when he heard gunshots. The guests ducked under the table from where they had fleeting glimpse of terrorists who were firing indiscriminately.
At least 10 top business executives are also stuck on another floor of the hotel. :tiphat:http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1209701

http://pandemicinformationnews.blogspot.com/
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=484><TBODY><TR><TD class=ash12normalV>Mumbai terror attack</TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right" class=ash12normalV>IANS</TD></TR><TR><TD class="size18 black" height=26 vAlign=top colSpan=2 align=left><!--Fullheadline-->Most targets were foreigners' favourite hangouts<!--/Fullheadline--></TD></TR><TR><TD height=8 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #616161; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none" colSpan=2>Thursday, 27 November , 2008, 00:26
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 November , 2008, 00:38 </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2 align=left><TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: red; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: red; BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: red" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=ash12normalV vAlign=top align=left><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left><!--tr> <td><WImage></td> <td> </td> </tr--><TBODY><TR><TD>
<!-- google_ad_section_start=sify_article -->Mumbai: Almost all the locations attacked by suspected terrorists in south Mumbai on Wednesday night were preferred hangouts of foreign tourists. Here is a list of the seven places under attack:
Leopold Cafe in Colaba, a favourite hangout with the tourist crowd in south Mumbai (Firing)
Hotel Taj Intercontinental, a five-star hotel in south Mumbai (Firing)
Hotel Trident (formerly Hotel Oberoi), a five-star hotel in south Mumbai (Firing)
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), the headquarters of Central Railway and a World Heritage Building in south Mumbai (Firing)
Bade Miyan Gali behind the Hotel Taj (Firing)
Mazagaon (Explosion)
Vile Parle suburb in north Mumbai (Explosion)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
:tiphat:http://publication.samachar.com/top...ttp://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14806368
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

Alert in West Bengal after terrorist attack in Mumbai
Press Trust of India
Thursday, November 27, 2008, (Kolkata)
An alert was sounded on Wednesday night across West Bengal, including the eastern metropolis in the wake of terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Checking at entry points in the metropolis have been intensified and additional forces posted in vulnerable areas as a precautionary measure, city Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty told a news agency.

He said extra police personnel have been deployed in front of railway stations, big hotels, government offices and vital installations.

"We are keeping watch on the situation in Mumbai and have kept our forces alert here," he said.

Meanwhile, security has also been strengthened at the Sealdah, Howrah and Kolkata stations and Railway police asked to be vigilant in both Eastern and Southeastern Railways.:tiphat:http://publication.samachar.com/pub_article.php?id=3134208&navname=General &moreurl=http://publication.samachar.com/ndtv/general/ndtv.php&homeurl=http://www.samachar.com&nextids=3134205|3131822|3134206|3134207|3134208&nextIndex=0
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

Deccan Mujahideen claims it behind Mumbai attacks-

TV 26 Nov 2008 21:17:28 GMT

Source: Reuters

NEW DELHI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - An organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed it was behind attacks in India's financial capital Mumbai that have left at least 80 people dead, television channels reported on Thursday.

The previously unknown or little known group sent an email to news organisations claiming responsibility.

India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists thought to be behind some of the attacks.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP200405.htm

Deccan Mujahideen: this name is indicating 2 things:

- Muslim background

- Deccan is a geografic region, covering a big part of Southern India, more or less adjacent to Mumbai
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

Mumbai Hit: How it all happened (sequence of events)
By: Team Mid Day
Date: 2008-11-27


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Mumbai: Shootouts and explosions shook south Mumbai last night. The shootouts started at Colaba Causeway outside Leopold Restaurant and spread to Taj Mahal Hotel near Gateway of India, Trident Hotel on Marine Drive, Cama and Albless hospital on the Mahaplika Marg and CST ?&#128;&#147; all within a kilometre of each other.
Two gunmen, armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, entered CST after firing outside the station. Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma said the terrorists had entered the passenger hall, opened fire and thrown grenades. He told MiD DAY that the police had to resort to firing three rounds, but could not overpower the terrorists inside CST. The GRP had to wait for the striking force from the city police to assist them. The firing continued till the paper went to press. At least 10 people were killed at the station.
Meanwhile, the firing continued at the Trident Hotel lobby. DGP AN Roy said two of the terrorists, armed with ammunition, had holed up in the hotel. But a blast took place at the hotel after 40 commandos stormed the hotel a little after 11.30 pm.
Explosions
The shootout later escalated into explosions, with 3 blasts at Cama Hospital, 2 on Napean Sea Road, 2 at Nariman Point, 2 inside CST, one at a petrol pump in Colaba and one in a cab near the domestic airport. The terrorists also lobbed a grenade at a police van. Eyewitnesses claimed they had even heard an explosion inside the BMC headquarters.
The injured were rushed to GT Hospital near CST, but soon after that there was firing in the hospital's backyard as well. This area was also thrown into chaos with explosions going off every 10-15 minutes and consistent firing.
10 people, including two policemen, sustained serious injuries in a double bomb blast that went off in a cab near the Fun Citi shopping mall here at around 11.30 pm. Locals rushed the injured to the nearby V N Desai Hospital, where the condition of some injured was said to be critical.
The shooutout had killed 16 and injured over 50, including one policeman, when the edition went to press.

Red alert
The state has been put on red alert and additional platoons of reserve forces including the Rapid Action Force have been called in to the city. Police stations in sensitive areas like Nagpada, JJ, Pydhonie, Kurla, Jogeshwari, Mahim etc have been asked to be on alert. The BDDS have been sent to spot and nakabandi has been put at all police stations. All policemen have been asked to be ready wearing bulletproof jacket and loaded weapons, at their police stations. Day staffers who had left for home were called back to work :tiphat:http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/nov/271108-sequence-events-mumbai-hit.htm
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

The entire team at FluTrackers is saddened by these developments and hope that the situation is resolved quickly.

Our best wishes and condolences go to all those who are suffering.

It is in our darkest moments that we must struggle to see the light.
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

snipped from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27928718/

.....Several European lawmakers were among those who were staying at the Taj, a century-old seaside hotel complex and one of the city's best-known destinations. "I was in the main lobby and there was all of a sudden a lot of firing outside," said Sajjad Karim, part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a forthcoming EU-India summit......

.
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

so, what do they want , where is the webpage of the terrorists,
why is it avoided, is it even allowed to talk about this ?


--edit-----
found it now
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

The Mayhem in Mumbai
Making sense of India's terrorist attacks



Newsweek Web Exclusive
Nov 26, 2008 | Updated: 3:16 a.m. ET Nov 27, 2008

The attacks targeted the heart of India's financial district, but the shock waves were felt around the globe.

On Wednesday, a group of heavily armed assailants carried out a series of coordinated strikes in Mumbaikilling at least 80, wounding hundreds more, and claiming an indeterminate number of hostages. A group calling themselves the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the mayhem, but their identity could not be immediately confirmed, and many terrorism specialists said they were unfamiliar with the name.

Whoever did it took aim at Western passport-holders and prominent targets; among the locations hit were two major hotels, a train station and a hospital. Several top Indian security officials were among the casualties.

Police on the ground struggled to get a chaotic situation under control. Meanwhile, officials in the U.S. and elsewhere rushed to condemn the attackswhile puzzling over the root cause of the violence and wondering, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, whether more violence might be in store. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, author most recently of The Post-American World, and a Mumbai native, spoke with Tom Watson, managing editor of Newsweek.com, about the attacks and the political and social landscape in which they occurred.

NEWSWEEK: The events on the ground are unfolding rapidly. But knowing the country as well as you do, what strikes you about the reports we've heard so far?

FAREED ZAKARIA: I think one of the misconceptions we're seeing so far is the assumption that these attacks were aimed primarily at foreigners. Look at their targets.

The two hotels they attacked—the Taj and the Oberoi—are old, iconic Indian hotels. It used to be true that these places were affordable only by Westerners. But this is no longer true, and it's one of the big changes over the last ten years in India. The five-star hotels today are filled with Indians. Businessmen, wedding receptions, parties…these are real meeting places now, and even those who cannot afford to stay there often pass through the lobby.

So you think if the aim was to hit Americans, Brits or other Westerners, there would be more target-rich environments?

Absolutely. There's a Marriott, and a Hilton, a Four Seasons….The big American chains all have hotels there, and there are many more distinctly American targets. The Taj and the Oberoi are owned by Indians. My guess is that there will be a lot of Indians involved, and that this will generate a lot of domestic outrage.

The group that claimed responsibility called itself the Deccan Mujahedeen—a name that doesn't seem to register with many of the terrorism experts quoted in news accounts thus far. Does it mean anything to you?

This doesn't strike me as Deccan (the Deccan plateau stretches over much of central and southern India). I would be very surprised if the people who did this actually came out of the area. It's not an area of any particular significance for Islamic terrorism. It isn't as though there's a Deccan separatist region.

Any insight into where the terrorists might come from, then?

An Indian businessman who says he heard the attackers said he didn't understand the language that the young men were speaking. That means that it wasn't Hindi or Urdumost Indians would recognize the major languages even if they couldn't speak one of them. But most Indians would be unfamiliar with what's spoken in parts of the Kashmir. That's a source of much of the terrorism. My guess is that ultimately this will turn out to be some outside jihadi groups who might also recruit among disaffected Muslims locally.

Muslim militants have been responsible for much of the violence that has plagued Mumbai in recent years. But these attacks seem to be of a different magnitude.

One of the untold stories of India is that the Muslim population has not shared in the boom the country has enjoyed over the last ten years. There is still a lot of institutional discrimination, and many remain persecuted. There's enough alienation out there that there are locals who can be drawn in to plots. That tends to be a pattern, from Madrid to Casablanca to Balisome hard-core jihadis who indoctrinate alienated locals they can seduce.

What's also new and different about this was that it involved suicide attackers. There have been planted bombs in the past. But this is a different level than we've seen in India.

Given the delicate politics of the region—and particularly the tensions between India and Pakistan—do you anticipate Indian officials pointing fingers at their neighbor?

If you wanted to construct a conspiracy theory, it would go like this: elements of the Pakistani intelligence service that would like to get India more drawn into conflict in Kashmir might encourage this sort of thing.

That would draw militants in the Pakistani tribal areas away from attacking the Pakistani state, and back to attacking the Indian state. But I've never tended to believe such theories. More plausible to me: this is a classic Frankenstein monster. All these groups have some degree of training and support from Pakistan. But this operation probably does not involve that directly.

These groups are now autonomous, self-supporting, and have gone beyond those origins.

Do you suspect an Al Qaeda connection?

I doubt it. My sense is that for the last several years, the core of Al QaedaOsama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahirihas been very weak. This seems more like a Kashmiri, Lashkar kind of thing. They have the organization, they have the recruits, they have a cause they care about. The thing about Al Qaeda is that they've been quite unsuccessful in their core areasattacking American soldiers and American targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan, attacking the U.S. embassies.

But it's possible that they are now going where they can, and India is a big soft target. If you go to a five-star hotel in Pakistan, it's like a fort now. There are often two levels of security, and you often have to take a separate car to get from the gate to the door. It's not likely that will happen in India, an open, democratic society.

What strikes you about the way the country has responded in these first hours?

I think India is showing remarkable resilience. They're trying to get back to business as usual. They were planning to open the stock market, which is not far from the Taj; they ultimately decided that that might have been a bridge too far, but they're encouraging people to go back to work. That's the best thing about an open society. They're trying to project an image of resilience.

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URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/171006
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

A little history, terrorists who called themselves Indian Mujahadeen , attacked Mumbai in 2006:

11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital.

The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying on the western line of the Suburban Railway network.

209 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured.

According to Mumbai Police, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

More:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_July_2006_Mumbai_train_bombings
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

snipped from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7752003.stm

1100 The Indian navy says its forces have boarded a cargo vessel they believe to be linked to the attacks, the Associated Press news agency reports. Navy spokesman Capt Manohar Nambiar says the MV Alpha had recently come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan.

0950 India's Times Now television channel reports ...... It also says Indian navy helicopters, assisted by the coast guard, are chasing a trawler in the Arabian Sea that is believed to have transported the gunmen to Mumbai.

.
 
Re: Mumbai: Terrorist attacks

India?s Financial Capital Mumbai Shut After Terrorist Attacks

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and Indian units of financial companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co. shut their Mumbai offices today after terrorists killed 101 people in the financial hub of the world?s second-fastest growing economy.

India shut stock, bonds, currency and commodity exchanges, forcing brokerages and fund-management companies to close offices today. The Oberoi and Taj hotels that were attacked by the terrorists are close to the financial district, which houses the offices of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and HSBC Holdings Plc.

Terrorists armed with grenades and rifles stormed into the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel and the Trident Oberoi complex late yesterday, saying they were targeting Americans and Britons, according to eyewitness reports. The attacks, the worst in the city since train blasts in July 2006, have focused on foreigners in India for the first time.

?This targeted attack on foreigners will have an incalculable impact on the investment climate and the tourism and hospitality industry,? said Apurva Shah, head of research at Mumbai-based Prabhudas Lilladher Ltd. The brokerage shut its Mumbai office today.

The attacks come as India tries to boost its economy battered by the global financial crisis. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram has said economic growth this year will slow to 7.5 percent before rebounding to 9 percent next year.

Investors Exit

Overseas investors have pulled out a record $13.5 billion from Indian stocks in 2008 as of Nov. 25, causing the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, to slump 56 percent. Foreign investors bought a record $17.2 billion of local equities in 2007.

The Mumbai police cordoned off the area near the Taj and Oberoi hotels and commandos are in position. The attacks began at about 10 p.m. local time yesterday with explosions and gunfire ringing out across the city.

Unilever?s top management including Chief Executive Officer Patrick Cescau are ?absolutely safe,? said R. Rammohan, a spokesman of the Indian unit of the company. Cescau and other top officials of the company were evacuated from the hotel last night, he said. They were in Mumbai for a business meeting.

Daiichi Sankyo Co., Japan?s third-largest drugmaker, suspended travel to India. The company, which purchased a controlling stake in India?s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., said it will stop all travel to India until ?safety is assured.?

Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., the world?s two largest computer suppliers, limited their staff movement in India. Dell canceled all travel by employees into India for the next 48 hours. Hewlett-Packard closed its Mumbai office and prohibited staff from traveling to the city.

Foreigners Targeted

The terrorists targeted foreign nationals and landmark hotels, adding a new dimension to a wave of bombings in India this year that has killed more than 300 people. Multiple attacks have rocked India?s cities with bombs planted in markets, theaters and near mosques.

A little-known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks, the Press Trust of India reported. The attackers may have come from Pakistan, the Times Now television channel reported, citing an unidentified intelligence official.

Pakistan?s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

?Terrorism is a menace threatening humanity and humanity should join hands in fighting this scourge,? according to a foreign ministry release citing the minister. ?Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.?

Office Closures

Reliance Industries, India?s most valuable company, which has its main office in a building near the Oberoi hotel, may also shut some offices in Mumbai as the areas have been cordoned off, Paresh Chaudhry, spokesman of the company, said today.

Hotels across the nation have stepped up security with armed guards checking cars and setting up metal detectors.

The Imperial Hotel, a favorite destination for foreign tourists in New Delhi, wasn?t allowing visitors without verifying credentials. The hotel is coordinating with police and residents.

Indian Hotels Co., which owns the Taj hotel in Mumbai, said it was cooperating with the police and the government authorities to ensure the safety and security of guests and employees.

Schools and colleges in Mumbai are closed today, the Press Trust of India reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Saikat Chatterjee in New Delhi at schatterjee4@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 27, 2008 02:36 EST
 
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