THE YOUNG men came to Mumbai by boat to unleash a night of carnage on the "gateway to India". Americans and British tourists were targeted, but Indians made up most of the victims.
The gunmen, most of them apparently in their 20s, wearing T-shirts, black shirts and jeans, came ashore in black and yellow inflatable rubber dinghies.
Armed with automatic weapons, and carrying rucksacks packed with hand grenades and explosives, they abandoned their landing-craft on the beach, from where they would have been able to make out the outlines of their targets, some of Mumbai's most famous buildings.
It would appear that they had landed earlier, around 8pm, in a larger vessel at Sasoon dock and then used the dinghies to get closer to their targets in the heart of the city.
"Six young men with large bags came ashore, after which the two who remained in the boat started the outboard motor again and sped off," said one witness. "They were fair, chikna [well-off] and looked around 20, 22, 25 years old. They said they were students. When we tried to find out what they were doing, they spoke very aggressively, and I got scared."
Within two hours, the young gunmen were causing mayhem in a city that has always prided itself as being the hospitable gateway to India.
The targets for the attacks were clearly chosen for their iconic value, whether as symbols of Mumbai's power and wealth, as cultural centres associated with western values or as places where foreigners would be gathered. The inclusion of the headquarters of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group was obviously intended to send its own message.
By 9.15pm, the Leopold Cafe, a popular haunt for travellers for more than a century, and close to the Taj Mahal hotel, was under attack. A drinking place for writers and artists, it is also patronised by backpackers hoping for work as western extras in Bollywood films. Five men wielding AK-47 rifles charged in and opened fire without asking anyone to identify themselves.
A few minutes later, the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus, previously known as the Victoria terminus, a world heritage site and one of India's busiest stations, was a scene of chaos, with blood spattered across the station's forecourt and platforms.
Gunmen shot up the reservation counter, randomly sprayed passengers and fled. "They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground," said witness Nasim Inam.
By 9.30pm, another team of gunmen were attacking the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, best known just as the Taj, the city's premier hotel.
Despite the security arrangements of a venue well-aware it might be a target, the gunmen appear to have had little problem gaining access.
Even as this battle raged, Nariman House, the home of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group in south Mumbai, was coming under attack. Another group of gunmen had commandeered a police vehicle which allowed them to approach the HQ of the Chabad Lubavitch group. Two people are believed to have been killed, and there were still reports last night of up to 10 Israelis being held hostage in the city.
By now the number of the attacks in the city was making it almost impossible for the police to keep up. Within moments, they were hearing reports of shooting at the Oberoi Trident hotel, part of one of the most prestigious chains of hotels in India. It would not be until the following morning that commandos were sent in to rescue people trapped inside. Two hotel staff, one security guard and two terrorists are thought to have been killed at the hotel.
While guests in both hotels spoke of some gunmen asking for Americans and Britons, the death toll made it clear that, by a vast majority, the main victims were Indians and that any foreigner was regarded as a suitable target.
Among the dead are Japanese, Italians, Germans and Australians, and among the guests rounded up were Yemenis, Spaniards, New Zealanders, Turks and Israelis.
The violence was far from over. As police sped from attack to attack, a taxi was blown up in Vile Parle at around 9.55pm.
Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless hospital and GT hospital, causing fresh panic. The hospital is known as a place where women and children of the poor are treated and there was puzzlement as to why it had been added to the target list of the attackers.
Also targeted by the gunmen was the 70-year-old Metro cinema, known as a popular hang-out for foreigners and film fans as it shows English language and foreign films, as well as being a popular venue for the premieres of mainstream Bollywood spectaculars.- ( Guardianservice)