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The arrested terrorist has been identified as Abu Ismail from Faridkot in Pakistan.

Mumbai terror attack: A timeline

Terrorists launched a massive attack on India’s financial capital on Wednesday, and put major hotels under seige. A timeline of events since then:

8.00 pm: 4 more terrorists killed at the Taj. Another mammoth explosion in the Oberoi, starts huge fire.

7.30 pm: Major fire breaks out in Trident hotel.

6.45 pm: Large contingent of the RAF comes out of the New Taj building, two explosions heard in the Oberoi.

6.00 pm: Fourteen more people evacuated from the Oberoi, 50 more commandoes enter the Taj.

5:45: pm: Four injured foreign nationals have been moved out of the Trident hotel.

5.40: pm:An special NSG team specialised in managing hostage crisis, moves to Nariman house armed with rocket launchers and bazookas. Their aim is to flush out terrorists still holed inside and to free trapped Israeli hostages.

5.20 pm: The NSG arrests one militant at the Trident. The arrested terrorist has been identified as Abu Ismail from Faridkot in Pakistan.

4.56 pm: According to recent reports, five persons are being held as hostages at Nariman House.

4.55 pm: The Indian Navy spokesman Capt Manohar Nambiar says the Navy has “located the ship (MV Alpha) and now we are in the process of boarding it and searching it.”

4.55 pm: Firing intensifies at Taj hotel and Trident hotel.

4.40 pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirms that the attacks are being carried out by a group based out of the country. He further promises to set up a Federal Investigation Authority to fight terror in a co-ordinated manner.

4.40 pm: 30 hostages have been freed from Trident hotel. However, reports claim that 35 people are still trapped inside the hotel.

4.40 pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoles the deaths, describes the attacks as pre-planned. He further vows to take the strongest possible action in an address to the nation.

4.37 pm: Firing rages on at Trident Hotel.

4.37 pm: Grenade blast heard from Nariman House in south Mumbai.

4.25 pm: A terrorist has been reportedly killed in Taj hotel. Reports say that commandos have started barging into the rooms of the hotel.

4.24 pm: Terrorists holed up in Room No 473 of Taj Hotel.

4.23 pm: A major explosion heard from Taj Hotel.

4.18 pm: Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat, confirms that 4-5 militants holed up at Nariman House.

4.18 pm: Three Turks were holed up in their rooms in one of the luxury hotels in Mumbai attacked by Islamist militants, the Anatolia news agency reported quoting the Turkish Ambassador to India.

4.13 pm: Jewish priest Gabriel among hostages held at Nariman House, police say.

3.48 pm : Trawler or merchant vessel may have dropped speed boats allegedly used by terrorists, say Navy sources.

3.41 pm : Navy’s INS Kunjali and Vindhyagiri are chasing the suspected terrorist vessel off Mumbai.

3.40 pm : Navy and Coast Guard on hot pursuit of a merchant vessel suspected to have dropped the terrorists off the Mumbai coast.

3.35 pm : President Pratibha Patil phones the PM.

3.30 pm: Another loud explosion at the Trident Oberoi. In total six blasts have been heard from the hotel in the last 30 minutes.

3.27 pm : “Before I could reach there, the terrorists who had attacked one of the hospitals, the Cama Hospital, had left and those who attacked the railway station had also left,” Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.

3.20 pm: Army along with NSG commandos prepares for final assault at Nariman House

3.12 pm : An Italian national was among nine foreigners killed in the attacks on hotels and other targets in Mumbai, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

3.11 pm : A section of Taj hotel catches fire again.

3.11 pm : Maharashtra DGP A N Roy reaches Trident hotel.

3.10 pm : The Coast Guard launched a major search for a ship ‘M V Alpha’ by which the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks are suspected to have reached the shores of the metropolis.

3.03 pm : Investigators have picked up certain clues in connection with the terror attacks in Mumbai, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said, refusing to share details.

3.00 pm : Explosions heard inside Taj hotel.

2.50 pm: Terrorists holed up in Trident hotel throw five grenades outside the building. Meanwhile, two heavy explosions were heard from the hotel.

2.50 pm: European nations plan to send a plane to India to fly their citizens out of Mumbai, Spain’s consul in the city said.

2.43 pm: Grenade blast heard from Nariman House in south Mumbai, where six terrorists are holed up.

2.43 pm: Another blast rocks Taj hotel.

2.40 pm: Firing resumes in Taj hotel, marking the beginning of another round of operation. Earlier, the Maharshtra DGP A N Roy had claimed that all the hostages have been rescued from Taj. But the firing has again resumed in the hotel, indicating the presence of threat in the luxurious establishment. Another report had claimed that four storeys of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel have been reportedly sanitised.

2.40 pm: More NSG commandos have reached the Taj hotel.

2.27 pm: British counter-terrorism experts say the terror attacks at prominent landmarks in Mumbai have “all the hallmarks” of being an al Qaeda operation.

2.08 pm: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said that the people involved in the deadly overnight terrorist attack came from outside with hand grenades and weapons.

1.50 pm: 200 more NSG commandos are being rushed to Mumbai, an National Security Guard spokesman said.

1.48 pm: Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy said nine suspected terrorists, who were held this morning, are being questioned.

1.48 pm: Maharashtra DGP A N Roy confirmed that all the hostages inside Taj have been rescued. However, hostage-like situation at Trident hotel continues, he added.

1.27 pm: Intelligence reports had warned that there could be a possible entry of terrorists into Mumbai through the sea route, a top police official claimed.

1.27 pm: The Gujarat Police said the Mumbai terror strike was similar to the Akshardham Temple attack of 2002, and they are carrying out checks and searches as a precautionary measure.

1.27 pm: Handgrenades lobbed from Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai where terrorists are holed up.

1.27 pm: Expressing serious concern over the Mumbai terror attack, the AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said it was an attack on the country and not only on the commercial capital, Mumbai.

1.22 pm: President Pratibha Patil speaks to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to enquire about the situation in the metropolis.

1.19 pm: One more body was brought out of the Taj Mahal hotel, taking the total number of bodies removed from there to three.

1.15 pm: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the attacks as “barbaric” and extended support to the Indian government. Notably, today’s meeting of Qureshi and Union Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee at Chandigarh has been cancelled in the wake of the attacks.

1.10 pm: US Ambassador to India David Mulford offers condolences to the families of the victims of Mumbai terror attacks and said Washington was ready to provide all possible assistance to the Indian government.

1.04 pm: Another explosion at Trident.

1.02 pm: Loud explosion heard from Trident hotel.

1.01 pm: “We have total clue about the attacks,” says Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil. However, he has refused to give details.

12.55 pm: A day after the terror attack on the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus which left over hundred killed, services on the Central Railways were restored to normal today, officials said.

12.42 pm: Security forces and holed up terrorists exchange fire in Nariman House in south Mumbai.

12.39 pm: One terrorist holed up inside Nariman House in south Mumbai killed, says police. Six more ultras suspected to be inside the building.

12.39 pm: Dubbing the terrorists as enemies of the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that terror attacks in Mumbai posed a challenge to the entire nation and would be met resolutely.

12.34 pm: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi convened an emergency meeting to review the “internal security” in the state in wake of yesterday’s terror attacks in neighbouring Mumbai.

12.34 pm: Seven bodies brought out of Taj Hotel.

12.32 pm: Intelligence Bureau chief and Defence Secretary to attend the meeting called by Home Secretary.

12.18 pm: Rs 5 lakh compensation to be given to the kin of those killed in the terror attacks, says Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil. Rs 50,000 will be paid to the seriously injured.

12:16 pm: Two IL-76 aircrafts and four AN-32 aircrafts are ready to take off from Palam Airport in Delhi to assist operations going on in Mumbai.

12.14 pm: Defence Minister A K Antony calls a high-level meeting of the armed forces in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

12.14 pm : Airforce Brigade arrives in Mumbai.

12.13 pm : Commandos from Pune also rushing to Mumbai.

12.10 pm: Two bodies brought out of terror-struck Taj Hotel in Mumbai and taken away in an ambulance.

12.05 pm: Ten terrorists involved in the attacks are Pakistanis, sources tell Zee News.

12.04 pm: Seven British citizens have been injured in the terror attacks in Mumbai, British High Commissioner in India, Sir Richard Stag, said.

12.01 pm: At least four terrorists were holed up in the Taj Hotel where 40 to 50 guests were still trapped, says Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.

11.52 am: Nine suspects have been arrested and interrogated, R R Patil said.

11.51 am: Five terrorists killed and one captured in Mumbai, says Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil outside Oberoi Hotel.

11.40 am: R R Patil refutes reports of any ransom demands being made by the terrorists holed up in the hotel. He is unsure of the exact number of hostages in the hotel. Earlier, a terrorist, identified as Sahadullah, holed up inside Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel told a news channel that he seeks release of all “Mujahideens held in India” in exchange of the freedom of hostages inside the hotel.

11.23 am: The number of injured policemen rises to 25.

11.21 am: Two top US intelligence officials are believed to be among dead in the firing at Taj hotel.

11.20 am: Army’s General Officer Commanding reaches the Oberoi on instructions from Prime Minister.

11.20 am: Commandos begin firing at Nariman House. Four terrorists thought to be holed up inside.

11.17 am: L K Advani to accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during visit to terror-hit Mumbai.

11.16 am : Shots heard from the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch that was seized by the gunmen overnight.

11.15 am: A child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai.

11.10 am: Bush, Obama condemn Mumbai attacks; offer assistance

11.05 am: LK Advani terms the Mumbai attacks as the biggest in India. Calls for unity at the hour of crisis.

11.01 am: Shivraj Patil holds emergency meeting

10.45 am: Indian Navy’s Vice Admiral Bedi said that around 4-5 terrorists are still holed up inside the hotel, along with 40 hostages.

At around 7.30 am, NSG commandoes entered Taj to evacuate people.

Commandoes had also raided Trident Oberoi Hotel in South Mumbai to flush out terrorists holed up there. Terrorists have, reportedly, positioned themselves on the 19th floor of the Oberoi hotel.

Earlier, a bomb was also diffused this morning near Taj.

Zeenews.com India edition