India 'on verge' of ending Mumbai attacks after 143 deaths

Indian forces today claimed they would soon have Mumbai under full control after nearly two days of chaos and confusion that followed the terrorist attacks there.

Commandos ended a siege of the luxury Oberoi hotel while other forces descended from helicopters to storm a besieged Jewish centre.

After a chain of shootings across India’s financial centre left at least 143 people dead and the city in panic, General N. Thamburaj declared: “It’s just a matter of a few hours that we’ll be able to wrap up things.”

Explosions and gunfire continued intermittently at the elegant Taj Mahal hotel today, but officials said commandos had killed two gunmen inside the nearby Oberoi and ended the attack there.

“The hotel is under our control,” J.K. Dutt, director general of India’s elite National Security Guard commando unit said, adding that 24 bodies had been found. Dozens of people – including a man clutching a baby – had been evacuated from Oberoi earlier today.

The airborne assault on the centre run by the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch was punctuated by gunshots and explosions as forces cleared it floor by floor. The commandos initially had control of the top two floors.

One camouflaged commando came out with a bandage on his forehead, while soldiers fired smoke grenades into the building and a steady stream of gunfire reverberated across narrow alleys.

It was not immediately clear whether there were hostages inside or their fate.

The group rescued from the Oberoi, many holding passports, included at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians. Some carried luggage with Canadian flags.

One man in a chef’s uniform was holding a small baby. About 20 airline crew members were freed, including staff from Lufthansa and Air France.

But onlookers were treating the military claims of success with scepticism. Last night after about 400 people had been brought out of the Taj hotel, officials said it had been cleared of gunmen. But today army commanders said that while three gunmen had been killed, two to three more were still inside with about 15 civilians.

A few hours after that a security official, said at least one gunman was still alive inside the hotel and had cut of electricity on the floor where he was hiding. Shortly after that announcement, another round of explosions and gunfire were heard coming from the hotel.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed “external forces” for the violence – a phrase sometimes used to refer to Pakistani militants, whom Indian authorities often blame for attacks.

Today India’s foreign minister ratcheted up the accusations over the attacks.

“According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks,” Pranab Mukherjee said.

“Proof cannot be disclosed at this time,” he said, adding that Pakistan had assured New Delhi it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against India.

India has long accused Islamabad of allowing militant Muslim groups, particularly those fighting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, to train and take shelter in Pakistan. Mr Mukherjee’s carefully phrased comments appeared to indicate he was accusing Pakistan-based groups of staging the attack, and not Pakistan itself.

Earlier Pakistan’s Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar denied involvement by his country: “I will say in very categoric terms that Pakistan is not involved in these gory incidents.”

The gunmen were well-prepared, apparently scouting some targets ahead of time and carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy.

“It’s obvious they were trained somewhere ... Not everyone can handle the AK series of weapons or throw grenades like that,” one member of India’s Marine Commando unit said. He said the men were “very determined and remorseless.”

Analysts around the world were debating whether the gunmen could have been tied to – or inspired by – al-Qaida.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility in emails to several media outlets. The Deccan is a region in southern India that was traditionally ruled by Muslim kings.

Survivors of the hotel attacks said the gunmen had specifically targeted Britons and Americans, though most of the dead seemed to be Indians and whoever else was caught in the random gunfire.