Terror in India

The Counterterrorism Blog (see link at right) is doing a good job of staying on top of the news from India.

India's Financial Hub Mumbai under Multiple Terror Attacks! (updated)

By Animesh Roul

Co-Editor's Update, 6:00 pm ET: "India Times" reports over 80 dead, 900+ injured, with the head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism killed. "Express India" reports over 100 dead. Official reports put the death toll at 78 with 200 injured. The BBC website has a map of the affected area. The "India Times" reports 7 foreigners are among 15 hostages at the Taj Mahal Hotel and that the Army has entered the Taj and the Trident (formerly the Oberoi) Hotels, and a fire continues to burn inside the Taj. Multiple outlets report that an unknown outfit, Deccan Mujahideen, claims that it carried out the attacks. Streaming live coverage video is available at the CNN IBN Live site. CNN IBN also reports 9 terrorists taken into custody across Mumbai, but no official confirmation yet. India Times has a chronology of terror attacks in India, which have killed over 600 in the past 6 years.
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Suspected Islamic terrorists have attacked at least eight places in Mumbai, the financial hub of India on November 26 evening. They fired indiscriminately, and lobbed grenades around while making their way to Hotels and Railway Stations and Airport. At least 60 people, many foreigners have reportedly died and nearly 150 injured in these terror attacks. Times of India report quoting hospital sources, indicated that at least 80 people were dead and 250 injured in the terror attacks. There are unconfirmed reports of a Hostage situation also in Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels (with most foreign guests). The first incident of firing was reported at Leopold Cafe, a well-known watering hole for tourists and foreigners in Colaba. The second incident was near Taj Mahal hotel, the third was near Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point and the fourth one was at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station. Also a major blast was also reported in Vile Parle in suburban Mumbai. As per the latest reports around 15 people, half of them foreigners are taken hostage on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

The needle of the suspicion is on the Lashkar- e- Toiba and Student Islamic Movement of India combine (Now they credibly calling and proving them as Indian Mujahedeen terror group).

The incidents took place one day after the reported arrest of Lashkar -e-Toiba linked Raheel Sheikh by the Interpol in London. Raheel is one of the alleged masterminds of the conspiracy and was involved in the funding of the July 11, 2006, Mumbai serial train blasts that killed nearly 200 commuters and wounded over 500 people on that fateful day.

This page has a series of articles they have posted on India.

Some sources have wondered aloud, so to speak, whether the Pakistani ISI might be involved. If it was, in any way, the entire Asian sub-continent is likely to explode.

Bill Roggio, at The Long War Journal, has some other details, but nothing about the ISI, so maybe that's just borrowing trouble. It would be nice to think that, since the President Elect made comments about invading Pakistan, they would be more discreet. (Mind you, I think he was a flamin' idiot for saying it...)

Here is ThreatsWatch.org's post about it. It includes links to some live video feeds, and to a twitter feed from Shlok Vaidya, an Indian research analyst.

And here is Wired's post, mostly links to more twitter feeds and the like.

UPDATE: This Ain't Hell has some Live Blogging from a friend in India. Quote "Thank God Bush is still President" End Quote.

Plus, it appears that the timeline for Joe Biden's prediction about the Obamessiah being "tested" may have been off by a few months, as various sources report security being "beefed up" in and around New York City, especially the subways, etc, in conjunction with a "Plausible but Uncorroborated” Al Qaeda threat.