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| India-Pakistan |
| Mumbai attacks: Neighbours battle terrorists attacking Jewish centre |
| 2008-11-27 |
| Police commandoes battling the Mumbai terrorist attacks surrounded the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, which gunmen had seized overnight during a series of coordinated attacks across the city. Thousands of gawkers stood in the narrow alleyways near the white, five-story building in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India, where heavy curtains hung behind windows broken by gunfire. Neighbours had tried to protect the house as armed gunmen seized it Wednesday night. A witness said three people were killed in the attack, but the account could not be confirmed. "It seems that the terrorists commandeered a police vehicle which allowed them easy access to the area of the Chabad house and threw a grenade at a gas pump nearby," said Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, a spokesman for the Lubavitch movement in New York, adding the attackers then "stormed the Chabad house." The house serves as an educational centre, a synagogue and offers drug prevention services. Residents tried to protect the centre, clashing with the gunmen and throwing rocks at them in an effort to drive the militants away, said Puran Doshi, a local businessman who lives nearby. The crowd eventually retreated under fire from the gunmen, who wounded one man, killed three others and threw several hand grenades, he said. Police could not immediately confirm his account. "They shot indiscriminately into the crowd," Doshi said. Sanjay Bhasme, 40, who lives in the building behind Chabad house, said he notified the police after the shooting began about 9:45 p.m., but no police arrived for more than 30 minutes — and only after he'd repeatedly telephoned for help. Shmotkin said he had been unable to confirm reports that a couple and a teenager had been killed in the melee. He did not know the status of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, the main representative at Chabad house, or the rabbi's family. He said there were other families who lived at the house, which draws hundreds of Israeli and Jewish visitors from India and abroad each year. Shots were heard a few times Thursday morning, and the commandoes fired tear gas at least once at the house, said witnesses. Three people were lead from the building and escorted away by police: a woman, a child and an Indian cook. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #5 ION INDIA, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > HINDUVATA: ALL INDIAN MUSLIMS BRACE FOR GUJURAT-TYPE VIOLENCE; + INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN WATER COMMISSION: INDIA TO MAKE PAKISTAN BARREN [no water] BY 2014, + INDIA'S WATER WAR AGZ BANGLADESH [Bangla also "drying out"]. VARIOUS POSTERS - Wid PAKISTAN already being a NUCLEAR STATE, + BOTH BANGLA + MYANMAR INTERESTED IN NUCLEARIZATION + BALLISTIC MISSLES, INDIA IS POTENTIALLY FACING WAR(S) [WMDS-Missle, Nuclear?] ON MULTIPLE FRONTS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-27 20:41 |
| #4 I caught a glimpse of a Indian policeman or soldier carrying what appeared to be an Lee Enfield MK V Jungle Carbine. Several were armed with MK IV's A bit dated, but still quite an effective weapon. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-11-27 11:53 |
| #3 Remember Glenmore, we got our independence from Britain by armed revolt. The Indians went the 'non-violent' route. Which of course only works when you deal with enlightened civilizations. Not so much when you face the types they see today. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-11-27 11:43 |
| #2 clashing with the gunmen and throwing rocks Unfortunately, here in South Louisiana we don't have any rocks to throw at well-armed terrorists. On the other hand, we do have lots of guns with which to throw stuff. I guess they don't in India - culture or law? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-27 09:55 |
| #1 Residents tried to protect the centre, clashing with the gunmen and throwing rocks at them in an effort to drive the militants away Kudos to the brave residents of Mumbai |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-11-27 09:50 |