Foreigners targeted in coordinated Bombay attacks
*********************************EXCERPT***********************
Rhys Blakely in Bombay
Gunmen stalked a hotel in Bombay looking for British and US passport holders during co-ordinated attacks across the city that have left at least 18 dead.
A series of shootings and bomb blasts at luxury hotels and bars in the south of the city hit at least nine locations. Security sources said “a major terror attack” was unfolding.
Shootings were reported in the lobby of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the Colaba area of south Bombay and at the nearby Leopolds bar, a popular destination with western backpackers. Witnesses described pools of blood and bullet scarred walls at both locations.
A witness at the hotel told a local television station: “They wanted anyone with British or American passports.
"They wanted foreigners.”
It was feared that the death toll could rise significantly. The Times of India reported that more than 80 people had lost their lives.
Nearby, witnesses described a “high intensity” bomb blast at the Oberoi hotel, also in the south of the city, a regular meeting place for businessmen and wealthy tourists. Paramilitary forces were readying to storm the tower-block building, one of Bombay’s best-known landmarks as smoke continued to pour from the hotel lobby amid fears that hostages were being held by gunmen inside.
City residents several miles away said they had heard a huge blast – many had initially thought it was a firework set off to celebrate a wedding. Elsewhere in the city, a taxi was blown apart, apparently by another large bomb.
Sajjad Karim, an MEP for the North West of England who is in Bombay said he had seen a gunman opening fire in the lobby of Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
If they were looking for American or Brit passports...then it was Al-Q. Probably Kashmiri working for them...wierd they’d take hostages...perhaps they’re using the Beslan gameplan?
There is something to be said for a Camouflage Passport.
when will aq post on you tube? It will happen but will not be up for long.