Toll In Mumbai Attacks Expected To Rise
Gunmen have opened fire at seven sites in the Indian city of Mumbai. The coordinated terrorist attacks seemed aimed, at least in part, at Westerners. At least 78 people have died so far. Among the targets were two luxury hotels and a restaurant frequented by travelers.
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MICHELE NORRIS, host:
It's All Things Considered from NPR News. I'm Michele Norris. First this hour, the latest in the deadly attacks in Mumbai, India. Terrorists launched coordinated assaults with guns and grenades on multiple sites, that includes two luxury hotels and a restaurant popular with tourists. Witnesses say westerners were targeted, dozens are dead, hundreds are wounded. The attackers took hostages at the hotels.
NPR's South Asia correspondent, Philip Reeves, is in New Delhi, the Indian capital, and he joins us now. Philip, first of all, what can you tell us about how these attacks were launched?
PHILIP REEVES: Well, they came in with guns and with grenades, we're told, and one of the places they attacked was the landmark Taj Mahal Hotel. This is one of the most prestigious hotels in the world, really, a place where people from Bollywood would hold their parties, where extremely wealthy businessman from the international community and from India would gather.
They went in there. They also went into the Oberio Hotel, and they attacked a rail station. They - it's reported also attacked a place, Leopold's Cafe, which is a really popular place for tourists in particular in Bombay, also known as Mumbai, and so this was clearly a coordinated attack.
We right now know that the Taj Mahal is on fire because we could see the pictures of that on television. The roof is on fire. And we also know that hostages, up to 100 hostages, have been taken. It's a little unclear to us whether these hostages are in the Oberoi or in Taj Mahal or in both. We think both. That's what the police are saying. And so the situation, it's still developing as we speak.
NORRIS: As we saw the reports on the wires and also on television, we saw the pictures of at least one of the very ornate hotels there in Mumbai on fire. We're hearing that that fire is out now. Is the situation starting to get under control, contained in some of these hotels now?
REEVES: Well, it's not clear that it is contained. I mean, we've just had an official from Mumbai saying that the situation in the city is actually not totally under control. There are reports. It's hard to confirm them. Frankly, it's chaotic there at the moment of sporadic gunfire. So, I think this situation is still developing, and we will learn more as, you know, the hours pass.
It's (unintelligible) should be - one, you know, should remember that this is a city that had been attacked before. There was a terrible attack there a couple of years ago on the commuter trains in which several hundred people were killed, and in the 90's, the early '90's, there was a similarly-sized attack in terms of fatalities. But this one will go down as one of the worst and frankly - without wanting to justify it in any way at all - one of the most significant attacks because this is specifically against western targets.
NORRIS: There has been a claim of responsibility for the attacks. What more can you tell us about this group that's claimed responsibility?
REEVES: It's a group called the Deccan Mujahideen. It's never been heard of before. Deccan would suggest that it's from the south of India. Whether it's a serious claim or not we don't know.
There have been bombings in Indian cities this year. More than 100 people have been killed by those bombings. They were claimed by the Indian Mujahideen, another until now unknown - until this year unknown organization.
Whether there's a link there, whether these are genuine groups, it's impossible to say, but what we do know is that the focus of attention will now again be on the question of whether there are within India groups that are - Islamist groups that are carrying out attacks within India and whether those groups are actually homegrown.
We can, of course, expect some elements in the political landscape here to blame India's neighbors, notably Pakistan, also probably Bangladesh. But the fact remains that the issue now is going to be whether this is homegrown Islamist terrorism going on here.
NORRIS: That's NPR's Philip Reeves speaking to us from New Delhi. Philip, thanks very much.
REEVES: You're welcome.
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At Least 78 Dead In Terrorist Attacks In Mumbai
Terrorists launched coordinated attacks in India's financial center of Mumbai on Wednesday, killing at least 78 and wounding hundreds at a train station, luxury hotels and a restaurant popular with Western tourists and wealthy Indians.
Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra state, said 200 people were injured, and other officers said the death toll is certain to rise.
P.D. Ghadge, a police officer at Mumbai's central control room, told Reuters, "We have shot dead four terrorists and managed to arrest nine suspected terrorists." Local media reported that a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets.
Hours later, gunfire and explosions could still be heard at the Taj Mahal Hotel, where smoke and flames were coming from the building. Authorities believed from seven to 15 foreigners were being held hostage inside the hotel. Other hostages were being held at the Oberoi, but Anees Ahmed, a top state official, said it was not known if they were foreigners or Indians.
The U.S. State Department issued a release condemning the attacks. The release said U.S. authorities are not aware of any American casualties so far.
Sajjad Karim told Britain's Press Association news agency that he and several other lawmakers were barricaded inside the Taj Mahal Hotel.
"I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running," he told the Press Association by phone from the basement of the hotel.
"A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me. I managed to turn away and I ran into the hotel kitchen," he said.
Karim was part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a forthcoming EU-India summit.
The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks, including a series of blasts in July 2007 that killed 187 people.
"It was really scary. It was like the sound of loud crackers, not one but several; we just ran out of there," said Janice Sequeira, a tourist who had been at a restaurant in the Taj Mahal Hotel.
From NPR and wire reports
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