Mumbai, November 28, 2008 – Dr. Raj Baldeav, Cosmo Theorist, Chairman, National Integration Assembly (NIA) while giving his comments to MIL praised the way the Indian commandos slid down ropes from the hovering 3 army helicopters on early morning of Friday and further said that it has given a new hope of India being more serious to handle the global terrorism.

The commandoes are reported to have stormed the sensitive points of Taj Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House, the home to the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad Lubavitch, also called a Jewish community center, seized by terrorists during bloody attack on Mumbai.

After getting a great success in the Taj and Oberoi, where from they succeeded in getting out more than 400 guests and around 100 guests from the Oberoi, the commandoes also diverted their attention to Nariman House, a five storey building. They were made to land through two helicopters on the roof, and the third helicopter hovered to supervise the operation.

The commandoes got the building vacated, and the nearby streets were closed for any entry so that no innocent person could get hurt or killed during firing and further more no terrorist inside could escape.

The commandoes planned their position, slowly came down few steps of a small stair from the roof and started their operation inside at 9:20 A.M. They had first scanned the lower floors since the firing was coming from inside. It was a very complicated operation.

The jawans of Indian army and paramilitary commandos entered the Taj and the Oberoi with a view to searching for survivors and also to locate the terrorists, the conditions were deplorable, fire exchange continued, grenade blasts were thrown by terrorists after short intervals, causing more and more damage by fire.

The biggest difficulty for the Indian commandoes was that in spite of gaining some control of the crises, they were to be cautious that the guests in the hotels should return safe and no damage should be done to them. The terrorists were only taking their advantage and so the commandoes were to move slowly and cautiously taking more time to accomplish their task, and that’s the reason that the operation is still continuing.

Two terrorists are reported to have been killed and one commando was injured and shifted to the nearby hospital for treatment.

Indian authorities appeared to be gaining gradual control of the crisis. However, the commandoes have shown extra ordinary boldness and courage to handle the tripple situation.

As reported by New York Times, two men who claimed to be among the gunmen called local television stations, demanding to speak with the government. They complained about the treatment of Muslims in India and about Kashmir, the disputed territory over which India and Pakistan have fought two wars.

“Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir?” a caller who identified himself as Imran asked. “Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims?”

It looks that those people were misguided on the subject   told the local TV stations; they were probably reproducing the words of the terrorists.

The men said they were Indian, but the attacks appeared to ratchet up tensions in an already volatile region. In a televised speech, India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, blamed forces “based outside this country” in a thinly veiled accusation that Pakistan was involved.

The attacks could threaten recent American efforts to reduce the overall enmity between Pakistan and India, which were meant to enable Pakistan to focus more military resources against the rising threat of the Taliban  in its lawless tribal areas.
Mr. Singh issued a warning that seemed clearly aimed at Pakistan, which India has often accused of allowing terrorist groups to plot anti-Indian attacks.

“The group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country,” he said. “We will take up strongly with our neighbors that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them.”

 The operation still continues, not yet over.

Six foreigner guests were killed and seven were wounded in this attack by the terrorists and that has created a big agitating voice.
Report:

Hisashi Tsuda, 38, a businessman and father of two from Tokyo, was killed, his company announced Thursday. Brett Taylor, 49, a timber merchant from Sydney, Australia, had been staying at one of the besieged hotels, the Oberoi, and was confirmed dead. Antonio de Lorenzo, a businessman from Livorno, Italy, was killed at the Oberoi, according to reports quoting Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini.

A German, Ralph Burkei, 51, was fatally injured when he jumped out of the other hotel under assault, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel. According to several reports citing the Munich newspaper Abendzeitung, Mr. Burkei, a co-owner of an independent television production company in Munich, called a friend from his cellphone and said: “I have broken every bone in my body. If no one helps me now, I’m finished.” He died on the way to the hospital.

The British authorities said one Briton had been killed and seven wounded.
The American Embassy said it was unaware of any American casualties, though at least three wounded Americans were at Bombay Hospital, one of several hospitals where the injured were being taken.

Several high-ranking law enforcement officials were reported killed, including the chief of the antiterrorism squad and a police commissioner.

Whatever could be the consequences, the Indian Army and its commandoes are fighting their best, making their priority efforts to save all those entrapped in the hotels or taken hostages.

The complete report is still awaited.