Rediff.com journalists Vaihayasi Pande Daniel and Rajesh Karkera attend an emotionally-charged ceremony marking the killing of Jewish Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka Holtzberg in the attack on Chabad House during the 26/11 carnage. They also attend a parallel ceremony, mourning slain NSG commando Gajendra Singh.
Balasaheb Thackeray would have been so happy if Kasab was hanged during his lifetime, 26/11 survivor and Shiv Sainik Vijay Surve tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'We began hitting Kasab hard.' 'In the melee it struck me that the man we were beating to pulp should remain alive.'
Investigators have painstakingly pieced together how American terror suspect David Headley used different people to plan out the 26/11 terror attack.
Three journalists of a private news channel on Thursday identified their voices in the conversation recorded between them and terrorists during the 26/11 terror attacks.
'American-Israelis know the dangers involved. They know they can be targeted, so they always take precautions. Security is important to them,' says Rabbi Sharon Benjamin Galsulkar.
The confession of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Abu Jundal is expected to open up a can of worms regarding the Indian link to the 26/11 attacks. A source said that he has told the Delhi police that he was indeed in that dreaded control room which guided the attack.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said.
Relatives of a Rabbi, who was gunned down along with his pregnant wife during the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, have filed a wrongful death suit against Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and Lashkar-e-Tayiba at a Brooklyn court. Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, who were originally from Brooklyn, were killed when the attackers took over the Chabad Lubavitch centre at Nariman House in November 2008. They were slaughtered in front of their two-year-old son.
Among those who remembered the slain bravehearts, who fell to bullets of Pakistani terrorists while repulsing the deadly attack on this day 11 years ago, were their kin, politicians, government officials, sports persons and common citizens.
A hoarding an MNS leader posted in Mahim, north-central Mumbai, to mark the first anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, omits National Security Guard commandos Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajendra Singh Bisht who lost their lives battling terrorists at the Taj Mahal hotel and Nariman House respectively.
Two National Security Guards personnel, including an officer, were on Friday were killed and six other commandos injured during operations against terrorists in Mumbai, the first casualties suffered by the elite force during the siege.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday said there is no hostage-like situation at any hotel where people have locked themselves in their rooms for safety after the attack by terrorists on Wednesday.
The elite Indian counter-terror force National Security Guard celebrated its 25th anniversary at a function in Haryana on Friday. On Friday, the commandos presented a spectacular display of their firepower and skill as they recreated the scene of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Tributes were also paid at the places targeted by terrorists including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Cama and Albless Hospital, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, the Oberoi Trident, Nariman House, the Jewish community centre, and the memorial of ASI Tukaram Omble who was martyred while overpowering Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist who was captured alive.
The Israel government today slammed an Israeli rescue group for alleging that Indian commandos may have inadvertently killed one or more Jewish hostages during the Nariman House operation, saying the "irresponsible" comments could cause considerable damage to bilateral ties.
Solomon Sopher, friend of the slain Holtzbergs, tells us of the condolence meeting held in memory of the couple on Monday morning.
All ranks and file of the elite force gathered at NSG headquarters in Palam to pay their tributes to the slain hawaldar, who was a member of NSG's 51 Special Action Group.
The seven-day joint exercise termed Black Eagle--between the Special Forces (Garuda) of the IAF and the NSG's Black Cats was conducted with the help of MI-17 helicopters, sophisticated weaponry and unique heliborne devices used by commando forces at the NSG garrison in Manesar.
Six months after their successful commando operation in Mumbai, the National Security Guard is training its personnel on new modules to hone their urban warfare and specialised operational skills to thwart terror attacks in future.
The terror strike at the German bakery in Pune's Koregaon Park locality has rekindled concern for the safety of Israelis and Jews in the country, but community members have said that the bombing will not scare them away.
The ungainly barricades surrounding the Taj Mahal and Trident hotels, the indifferently manned metal detectors at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the strong smell of fresh paint at Nariman House and a bullet lodged on the cracked surface of a table at Leopold Cafe.
'Since I felt there could be more, I had told the local authorities to screen every hostage carefully, since we felt that some could have been staying as guests.' Former NSG director general J K Dutt in an exclusive interview.
Anand Bhatt argued that they were all guests, innocent people who had merely come to dine. Why kill these people, he argued.
Standing shattered behind the Gateway of India with soot marred walls, bullet riddled doors, broken window panes and splinter marks, the terrorist-hit structures are now the most sought after tourist destinations in the city.Welcome to the world of 'disaster tourism' as many call it, where Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotel along with Nariman House and of course the Leopold Cafe have become the favourite spots to be thronged by the average Mumbaikar.
Commandos of the National Security Guards received a rousing welcome from the locals when they came out of the Nariman House after killing two dreaded terrorists, who had holed themselves in the building along with five hostages.When the commandos came out after the successful mission, they were greeted with cheers, claps, pats on shoulders and patriotic slogans.The crowd, which had gathered outside the building, came running towards the unit as they came out.
It needs a lot of skill to keep the helicopter still as commandos slither down on like it was done on the rooftop in a busy area.
The National Security Guard's fight against terrorists is 'almost coming to an end' and the commandos were locked in battle with the last batch of the ultras on Thursday night.Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor said all hostages inside the Taj Hotel have been evacuated but refused to comment on whether the terrorists inside the hotel have been killed.Regarding terrorists holed up in the Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House, Gafoor said NSG commandos are leading the operation.
'And be confident that we will do a successful operation... Don't ask for a deadline. It is very difficult to say in such cases,' says Major General R K Hooda.
All hostages at Taj Hotel in Mumbai have been rescued, but there could be some still trapped at Trident hotel and Nariman House where operations were on to flush out terrorists, Maharashtra police chief A N Roy said on Thursday, ruling out any negotiations with the terrorists.
The director of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, and his wife Rivika are suspected to be among those being held hostage at its office in Nariman House, Colaba in South Mumbai, by terrorists since Wednesday night
Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008, on Friday told a special court hearing the 26/11 terror case that he was not aware of the attacks at Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi, Nariman House and Leopold Cafe in Mumbai. "I also do not know the people who had fired and exploded bombs at these places on November 26, 2008," Kasab said in reply to questions put to him by Judge M L Tahiliyani.
The former armyman -- identified as Sajid Mir -- has turned out to be Headley's handler in Pakistan and was tasking the American to learn praying like Jews so that he could conduct a recce of Jewish Centre Nariman House in Mumbai and the premises of a newspaper in Denmark, official sources said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Sources in the disaster management cell of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said 195 people were killed, including 10 foreigners and 15 police personnel. Besides, 295 others were wounded
The two sniffer dogs of the National Security Guards (NSG) went about their task with diligence for about 15 hours during the encounter in the Nariman House along with their masters -- the commandos-- and are no strangers to life threatening situations.
"There were some pretty scary moments while we were fighting fires at the Taj Hotel. On Thursday night, while we were in a cage trying to rescue guests trapped in the heritage section of the hotel, we saw one of the terrorists carrying a gun," Chief Fire Officer A V Sawant told PTI.
Sources in the disaster management cell of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said 195 people were killed, including 10 foreigners and 15 police personnel. Besides, 295 others were wounded
The gruesome siege drama in Mumbai has claimed the lives of at least 13 foreign nationals and left 22 of them injured.According to Union Home Ministry data released on Thursday evening, eight foreign nationals were dead and 22 injured in the Mumbai terror attacks. These figures do not include the death of five Israelis in Nariman House, whose killing was confirmed later by National Security Guards chief J K Dutt.
As the terror drama unfolded in Mumbai, social networkers and bloggers rapidly posted pictures of the ongoing events and sent sms-es over phone to whet the growing hunger for information and reports of live unedited action.
India's Muslims need to be seen as a potential asset, rather than a liability, in the struggle against terrorism. Scores of Indian ulema or Islamic clerics are now openly castigating all forms of terror, organising mass rallies and even issuing fatwas to get the message across. The Indian State and civil society urgently need to realise that hounding the Indian Muslims can only play into the hands of outfits of groups like the Lashkar
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