Searching for Answers in Mumbai
Who was responsible for this week's siege in Mumbai? Some clues had emerged in the Indian metropolis by Thursday night, as the crisis appeared to be winding down, although the fate of several hostages still hung in the balance.
Who was responsible for this week’s siege in Mumbai? Some clues had emerged in the Indian metropolis by Thursday night, as the crisis appeared to be winding down, although the fate of several hostages still hung in the balance.
Wait, before you go…The New York Times:
By midnight, amid early indications that the sieges were ending, fears were growing that the death toll would rise past the more than 119 known. Smoke was still rising from one of the hotels; people who escaped reported stepping around corpses. Dozens, perhaps many more, remained trapped or were held hostage to the heavily armed assailants; their survival was yet to be determined.
There remained much mystery around the group behind the attack, unusual in its scale, its almost theatrical boldness and its targeting locales frequented by wealthy Indians and foreigners.
Two men who claimed to be among the gunmen called local television stations, demanding to speak with the government and complaining about the treatment of Muslims in India and about Kashmir, the disputed territory over which India and Pakistan have fought two wars.
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The State Department has warned Americans traveling to and living in Europe that the entire continent faces a heightened risk of terrorist attack. Authorities fear that al-Qaida is planning something like the 2008 Mumbai shooting spree that killed 166 people.
On Monday, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving suspect captured during the three-day terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, in November 2008, was found guilty of multiple charges in an Indian court. Kasab now awaits sentencing -- and possibly the death penalty.
On Saturday, officials in Mumbai continued hunting for clues, and for bodies, in the wake of the terror siege that began Wednesday in the Indian megalopolis. More than 170 people are known dead.
India's busiest city came under fire Thursday morning (local time) as gunmen attacked at least seven targets, including two luxury hotels, a train station and a hospital. The attacks killed at least 100 people and injured hundreds more. Officials said the death toll included the head of Mumbai's counterterrorism unit.
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