| Four Nigerians, who were on a visit to India, narrowly escaped death in the string of terror attacks which rocked Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital, two days ago. Death toll in the attacks, now being compared to 9/11 in the United States in 2001, has, however, risen to 125. A total of 327 people are left wounded from the attack. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported last night that Indian security agents rescued the four Nigerians from the scene of the attacks. Indian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Makesh Sachdev, also confirmed the escape of the Nigerians. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has, however, expressed shock and sadness at the attacks on several locations in the city and condoled the government and people of India. Also yesterday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held terrorist groups in the country’s neighbouring countries responsible for the attacks that have left the state in confusion. Other world leaders have also condemned the attacks. Some nationals of the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Pakistan have been confirmed killed in the attacks. Gunmen wielding assault rifles and hurling grenades had targeted Hotel Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai and the city’s train station and hospital. President Yar’Adua, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, condemned the attacks. While deploring the tragic loss of lives through needless violence, Yar’Adua also called for a concerted global action against all forms of terrorist activities. In his address, Singh said New Delhi would take up strongly the use of neighbours’ territory to launch attacks on India. He said: “The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of terror by choosing high-profile targets. “It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the financial capital of the country.” Earlier yesterday, fresh gunfire and explosions further rocked Mumbai as police were battling terrorists at three sites about 24 hours after the first wave of violence hit the city. Shortly after authorities said the siege had ended at the Taj Mahal Hotel, two explosions were heard, similar to the six blasts heard earlier. It was not immediately clear what caused any of the explosions. Witnesses said continuous gunfire could be heard at the hotel. According to Cable Network News (CNN), a fire from earlier billowed smoke went through one of the hotel’s windows, as fire-fighters poured water over the plumes. CNN earlier reported that a few blocks away, at the Hotel Oberoi, a major fire raged yesterday night through one floor there. The network also reported that 30 people were trapped and that gunshots could be heard. Later, an explosion was heard from the hotel’s rear side. Reports said three or four terrorists were held hostage in both the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, though they were released later. Reports said: “The commandos are in control. A lot of chef trainees were massacred in the kitchen.” At least six foreigners, including one Australian, a Briton, an Italian and a Japanese national were killed in the attacks. Those who survived told harrowing stories of close encounters. Australian actress Brooke Satchwell, who starred in the Neighbours television soap opera, said she narrowly escaped the gunmen by hiding in a hotel bathroom cupboard. She said: “There were people getting shot in the corridor. There was someone dead outside the bathroom. The next thing I knew I was running down the stairs and there were a couple of dead bodies across the stairs. It was chaos.” Commandos had also gathered outside a Jewish centre where a rabbi is thought to have been taken hostage, but later apparently decided to hold off from an assault. A militant holed up at the centre phoned an Indian television channel to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages, but also to complain about abuses in Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars. |
Nov282008