November 29, 2008	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 30, 1429

MUMBAI, Nov 28: More than forty-eight hours after about two dozen terrorists launched a series of dastardly attacks on high-profile targets in the city, commandos managed to regain control of all but one place by Friday night.

The recovery of dozens of bodies at the Oberoi-Trident hotel and a Jewish centre in Colaba pushed the death toll above the 160 mark. Over 350 people have suffered injuries over the past two days.

Two terrorists, armed with AK-47 rifles and hand-grenades, continued to offer strong resistance at the Taj Mahal hotel, dodging the commandos and engaging them in fierce battles. Frequent explosions were heard and some of the rooms on the first floor of the building caught fire.

Lt-Gen N. Thamburaj, who heads an elite commando unit, told reporters that one terrorist was hiding in the ballroom and was shuttling between two floors, avoiding the commandos. The terrorists holed up in the hotel are the last of the two dozen suspected to have sailed into Mumbai on Wednesday night.

After landing at a fishing colony near Colaba, they are believed to have split up into groups of three and four and headed for pre-determined destinations in south Mumbai, where they unleashed reign of terror. They launched brazen attacks, firing indiscriminately from their AK-47 rifles and lobbing hand-grenades, at the Taj and another luxury hotel, Oberoi-Trident, a restaurant that is popular among foreigners, a children’s hospital and the CST station, the busiest in the country.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that two of the eight terrorists who were arrested are Britons of Pakistani origin. However, there has been no confirmation from the UK government so far about the identity.

According to National Security Guard (NSG) sources, the assailants appeared to have earlier conducted extensive surveys of the two hotels and knew the key locations, including the CCTV rooms. They were also well versed in handling sophisticated arms.

The terrorists acted ruthlessly and showered guests at the two hotels with a volley of bullets every time they came across them in their rooms.

Police here claimed to have recovered nearly 8kg of deadly RDX explosives just outside the Taj hotel. The explosives were to be used to blow up the hotel, but the plan went awry for some unknown reason, according to police sources. On Wednesday night, a taxi loaded with RDX explosives — and headed for the international airport — blew up killing two suspected terrorists and the taxi-driver.

NSG commandos cleared the Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point of terrorists by Friday afternoon, and a few hours later gained control of the five-storey Nariman building in Colaba housing a Jewish centre. Five Israelis, who were being held as hostages, were killed by the terrorists.

J.K. Dutt, director-general of the NSG, told reporters that commandos killed two terrorists, before securing control of the building. Earlier in the day, nearly 18 commandos rappelled on to the terrace of the building from a helicopter. Fierce fighting between the commandos and the terrorists continued for several hours.

The NSG later blasted the building, creating huge holes on the walls, in a bid to end the siege. Among the hostages were a rabbi and his wife. The Jewish centre was popular among Israeli tourists visiting Mumbai.

Agencies add: At least 17 foreigners died in the Mumbai attacks, according to announcements by officials in India and in the victims’ home countries.

“Three of those killed were Germans, one Japanese national, one Canadian and one Australian,” India’s Internal Security Secretary M. L. Kumawat said on Friday.

Kumawat said the information was based on reports from commandos who fought gunmen in two hotels and a Jewish cultural centre.

At least three US citizens, including a Brooklyn rabbi, were killed in the attacks and the State Department said more Americans were at risk.

The Virginia-based Synchronicity Foundation said on its website that Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi, who were in India as part of a meditation programme, had died in the attacks.

The New York office of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish group said that Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka had been killed in the attacks. The couple’s son, who turns two on Saturday, escaped along with his nanny, the group said.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement that two French nationals had died.

The Singapore foreign ministry said Lo Hoei Yen, 28, was killed after she was taken hostage in the Oberoi-Trident hotel.

The previous day a British-Cypriot businessman was named by the British government as among the dead. Andreas Liveras, 73, was killed hours after he gave an interview describing how he was trapped in the Taj Mahal hotel.

More foreign deaths were likely to come to light as the security operation progressed. Among the injured were victims from China, Oman, the Philippines and several European countries, officials said.