Attacks in Mumbai
At this writing, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai are still ongoing. It seems that there were seven attacks on tourist sites, particularly two major hotels, a major train station, a hospital and the Chabad House. 100 people are said to be dead, including the antiterrorist force's chief, and 4 terrorists killed and 9 captured. Latest reports say that the Taj Hotel has been recaptured and hostages released there, but the other Hotel is still under attack by the Indian Army/police and so is the Chabad House. Apparently the nanny managed to escape from there with the Rabbi's baby, but the Rabbi and his wife were last seen unconscious. It is not known if there are Israeli casualties, but it is very likely that there will be.
I once stayed in the Taj Hotel and it is really a beautiful period piece straight out of the Raj. What a shame that it is partly burnt and destroyed. The Taj is right next to the famous Gate of India. Apparently the terrorists came ashore in dinghies and were able to just walk into the Hotel heavily armed. They gradually collected hostages mostly British and American and took them to the top floor where they started a fire. There is a report that the Indian Navy has intercepted a ship that may have been the mother ship that dropped the terrorists off to go ashore.
These highly coordinated and extensive attacks are characteristic of al Qaeda, but they are being claimed by the "Deccan Mujahidin" or freedom fighters. Mumbai is situated on the Deccan plateau that covers most of India. Although Muslims are ca. 20% of the Indian population, many of them want to go back to the time before the British conquest when the Muslims controlled most of India in the Mughal Empire. They are not concerned that they are a minority, they don't believe in democracy and will apply strict Muslim rules as in the past, i.e. convert or die. Their aim is to reconquer what they consider as former Muslim lands, i.e. India, Spain, Palestine, and join them into a new Caliphate.
The Indian Army is a formidable force, very large, but not so efficient. India has been caught several times by terrorist outrages, including a series of bombings in Mumbai in 2006, and the infamous attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi in 2001. In the past the Indian authorites have blamed Pakistan for supporting the Muslim terrorists, but this time it may be a quite indpendent group of Islamists that has also been waging war on the new Govt. in Pakistan. One of the main problems is the poor intelligence that the Indians have, although they cooperate with other countries including Israel in trying to combat the international Islamist terrorist threat.
These attacks were clearly aimed at harming the Indian tourist industry. India will now need to improve its antiterrorist intelligence capabilties as well as improve its coastal security forces.
I once stayed in the Taj Hotel and it is really a beautiful period piece straight out of the Raj. What a shame that it is partly burnt and destroyed. The Taj is right next to the famous Gate of India. Apparently the terrorists came ashore in dinghies and were able to just walk into the Hotel heavily armed. They gradually collected hostages mostly British and American and took them to the top floor where they started a fire. There is a report that the Indian Navy has intercepted a ship that may have been the mother ship that dropped the terrorists off to go ashore.
These highly coordinated and extensive attacks are characteristic of al Qaeda, but they are being claimed by the "Deccan Mujahidin" or freedom fighters. Mumbai is situated on the Deccan plateau that covers most of India. Although Muslims are ca. 20% of the Indian population, many of them want to go back to the time before the British conquest when the Muslims controlled most of India in the Mughal Empire. They are not concerned that they are a minority, they don't believe in democracy and will apply strict Muslim rules as in the past, i.e. convert or die. Their aim is to reconquer what they consider as former Muslim lands, i.e. India, Spain, Palestine, and join them into a new Caliphate.
The Indian Army is a formidable force, very large, but not so efficient. India has been caught several times by terrorist outrages, including a series of bombings in Mumbai in 2006, and the infamous attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi in 2001. In the past the Indian authorites have blamed Pakistan for supporting the Muslim terrorists, but this time it may be a quite indpendent group of Islamists that has also been waging war on the new Govt. in Pakistan. One of the main problems is the poor intelligence that the Indians have, although they cooperate with other countries including Israel in trying to combat the international Islamist terrorist threat.
These attacks were clearly aimed at harming the Indian tourist industry. India will now need to improve its antiterrorist intelligence capabilties as well as improve its coastal security forces.
posted by Jack Cohen at 2:24 PM
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