Mumbai bombing kills 80
26 November 2008 | 
Author: doctor |
Phil Smith Reuters - November 26, 2008
MUMBAI - At least 80 people were killed in a series of attacks apparently aimed at tourists in India's financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday night, with television channels saying Westerners were being held hostage at two five-star hotels.
At least 250 people have been wounded, police said.
There was also an attack on the Cafe Leopold, perhaps the most famous restaurant and hang-out for tourists in the city, and at hospitals and railway stations.
"I guess they were after foreigners, because they were asking for British or American passports," said Rakesh Patel, a British witness who lives in Hong Kong and was staying at the Taj hotel on business. "They had bombs." "They came from the restaurant and took us up the stairs," he told the NDTV news channel, smoke stains all over his face. "Young boys, maybe 20 years old, 25 years old. They had two guns." Police said targets included the luxury Taj and Oberoi hotels, with television stations showing the lobby of both hotels on fire and people being evacuated from the Oberoi with their hands on their heads. Fresh explosions were heard in the early hours of Thursday. "An encounter is going on at the two hotels, the situation is grave," Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister told CNN-IBN TV. "Our men are on the job." Maharashtra state police chief A.N. Roy said attackers had fired automatic weapons indiscriminately, and used grenades, adding that they were still holed up in some buildings. "These are terrorist strikes in at least seven places," he told the NDTV news channel. "Unknown terrorists have gone with automatic weapons and opened fire indiscriminately. At a few places they even used grenades. Some of the injured were evacuated from the Taj on the hotel's golden luggage carts, while waiters in black and white formal wear and chefs were seen leaving the Oberoi. "The lobby of the Taj hotel is on fire," a police spokesman said. "We are trying to find out how many people are inside the hotel." Sourav Mishra, a Reuters reporter, was with friends at the Cafe Leopold when gumen opened fire around 9:30 pm. He has received injuries and is in St. George's Hospital. "I heard some gunshots around 9:30. I was with my friends. Something hit me. I ran away and fell on the road. Then somebody picked me up. I have injuries below my shoulder," Mishra said from a hospital bed he was sharing with three other people. The wreckage of a red scooter, the remains of shop awnings and broken glass were strewn across the street. Armed police, rifles cocked at the hip, set up barricades around the explosion site, and local people were seen yelling at each other, angry that another terror attack had hit the city. Vehicles and street vendors' barrows were used to keep locals away, and speeding military four-wheel drives with horns blaring arrived at the bomb site. There were other attacks elsewhere. "They entered the passenger hub of a station and started firing," A.K. Sharma, a Mumbai police government railway police commissioner told local television. Sameeran Chakraborty, a Mumbai resident, told the NDTV news channel he heard a blast inside a car near the city airport. "It was a big noise and one car was involved, definitely not more than that." India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists thought to be behind some of the attacks. (original link)
THE DOCTOR: So people were setting off bombs, firing automatic weapons randomly in 'tourist areas', and as the article admits they have no idea who is responsible. They said most bombings as of late have been blamed on Islamist militants, but Hindu extremists have also been blamed. I read about some kind of terrorist activity in India almost every day, and that is not a new thing. I can remember saying nearly the same thing almost three years ago. It is possible big media might be trying to tell everyone to stay out of India. The article in this case is not worried about catching those responsible at all. If that was the case they would have multiple witness accounts of the suspects, expert opinions on who was responsible and tips how these sort of horrors can be avoided or minimized. Instead, they have 90% of the article describing what was going on, multiple things exploding, the police chatter and some description of the action they took. Two hotels were hit, as well as hospitals and railway stations. They focus on the restaurant (popular with tourists) and the two hotels (where tourists would stay), with just a passing mention of the other targets, either of which has the possibility to claim many many more victims. Most of their witness account was from a tourist as well. Clearly no one knows who is responsible, as any of the groups they could be responsible are not even indicated until the closing paragraph. Shining example of under-reporting, or burying facts, and Rueters.com is notorious for doing exactly that.
