A hostage crisis continued in Mumbai, India, with over 10 hostages still in Taj Hotel and another 100 people being believed to be trapped in Oberoi Hotel, police said Friday.
It's over 36 hours since Mumbai was taken over by terrorist attack. And there's still no end to the nightmare.
Five Chinese people who were among the trapped in Oberoi Thursday are safe now, Zhang Longhai, an official of the Chinese Consulate-General in Mumbai, told Xinhua.
Operations are still on in these two five-star hotels. Fresh rounds of gunfire rung out from the encounter area. At the Oberoi, there are believed to be two or three terrorists. No report of the exact number of remaining terrorists inside the Taj Hotel now.
"At least one injured terrorist is inside Taj hotel. The stage seems to be set for a final operation there," police said.
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| Mumbai anti crime military soldiers prepare to fight terrorists on November 27, 2008. [Xinhua] |
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| Two foreigners are rescued after being held as hostages for 24 hours in Mumbai on November 28, 2008. [Enorth.com.cn] |
Friday morning, seven hostages had been rescued from Nariman House after powerful gunshots.
So far, 125 people have been killed, including 14 policemen and six foreigners, and 327 injured in a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai since Wednesday evening.
Security forces from Indian army, navy, National Security Guard and Rapid Action Force got involved in the raging encounter with heavily-armed terrorists.
Terrorists had set up "Control Rooms" in the Taj and Oberoi and did prior reconnaissance executing plans worked "over months", Indian Union Cabinet minister Kapil Sibal said.
Sibal said the unprecedented terror attack in the country's financial capital was well-planned.
As security agencies pieced together various information, there were reports that a likely arm of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba may have been involved in the attacks.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2008)