Terror, unimaginable terror, returned to Mumbai's streets on Wednesday night, killing over 200 people, including Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte, and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. All three died fighting the terrorists.
The obvious aim of the terrorists was to overawe the police force and bring the country's commercial hub to a standstill.
Moving about in groups of twos and threes, the terrorists struck with impunity all over the city, setting off coordinated multiple blasts and gunfire in a dozen areas across the metropolis, including the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station and two five star hotels - the Oberoi and the Taj. Guests were still being held hostage in the two hotels as commando forces were trying hard to retrieve the situation.
As indiscriminate firing and explosions at iconic landmarks showed no signs of easing after the first attack at Leopold restaurant in Colaba at about 9.30pm, the army was moved in while 200 NSG commandoes were rushed to Mumbai from Delhi. Mumbai has been cordoned off and people going home on Wednesday night were frequently stopped for checking.
The terrorists, who apparently arrived by sea with their explosives (their boat was later found by customs officers), did not even spare hospitals like GT and Cama, where gunfire was reported. Police and eyewitnesses said AK-47s, rifles and hand grenades were used at will by an unspecified number of terrorists.
Foreigners and policemen appeared to have been the main targets. Though no guesses were made about the identities of the terrorists, eyewitnesses said some of them spoke Arabic, and included Nigerian or Somali mercenaries.
The obvious aim of the terrorists was to overawe the police force and bring the country's commercial hub to a standstill.
Moving about in groups of twos and threes, the terrorists struck with impunity all over the city, setting off coordinated multiple blasts and gunfire in a dozen areas across the metropolis, including the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station and two five star hotels - the Oberoi and the Taj. Guests were still being held hostage in the two hotels as commando forces were trying hard to retrieve the situation.
As indiscriminate firing and explosions at iconic landmarks showed no signs of easing after the first attack at Leopold restaurant in Colaba at about 9.30pm, the army was moved in while 200 NSG commandoes were rushed to Mumbai from Delhi. Mumbai has been cordoned off and people going home on Wednesday night were frequently stopped for checking.
The terrorists, who apparently arrived by sea with their explosives (their boat was later found by customs officers), did not even spare hospitals like GT and Cama, where gunfire was reported. Police and eyewitnesses said AK-47s, rifles and hand grenades were used at will by an unspecified number of terrorists.
Foreigners and policemen appeared to have been the main targets. Though no guesses were made about the identities of the terrorists, eyewitnesses said some of them spoke Arabic, and included Nigerian or Somali mercenaries.
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