Being a busy railway station, it was the perfect target as the large concentration of people ensures a high death toll.
The CST was attacked by two gunmen, Kasab and Khan. The attacks began around 21:30 when the two men entered the passenger hall and opened fire, using AK-47 rifles. The attackers killed 58 people and injured 104 others. The two gunmen fled the scene and fired at pedestrians and police officers in the streets, killing eight police officers.
A team of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad led by police chief Hemant Karkare searched the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus for the terrorists.
Kasab and Khan fled to the streets, firing at policemen and pedestrians. A series of firefights ensued, finally ending with the two terrorists running into a police roadblock.
Khan was killed and Kasab, the only surviving terrorist, was wounded.
Leopold Café
The cafe was an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists. The restaurant was extensively damaged during the attacks. Gunmen sprayed the restaurant with bullets and there were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers. 10 people were killed.
Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Trident
Before the attack
After the attack
Six explosions were reported at the Taj hotel and one at the Oberoi Trident. At the Taj Mahal, firefighters rescued 200 hostages from windows using ladders during the first night. During the attacks, both hotels were surrounded by Rapid Action Force personnel and Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and National Security Guards (NSG) commandos. Security forces stormed both hotels, and all nine attackers were killed by the morning of 29 November. 32 hostages were killed at the Oberoi Trident, including a Singaporean, Lo Hwei Yen.
Nariman House
Nariman House, a Chabad Lubavitch Jewish center in Colaba known as the Mumbai Chabad House, was taken over by two attackers and several residents were held hostage NSG commandos arrived from Delhi, and a Naval helicopter took an aerial survey. During the first day, 9 hostages were rescued from the first floor. The following day, the house was stormed by NSG commandos fast-roping from helicopters onto the roof, covered by snipers positioned in nearby buildings. After a long battle, one NSG commando and both perpetrators were killed. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka Holtzberg, who was six months pregnant, were murdered with four other hostages inside the house by the attackers. According to radio transmissions picked up by Indian intelligence, the attackers "would be told by their handlers in Pakistan that the lives of Jews were worth 50 times those of non-Jews." Injuries reported on some of the bodies indicate they may have been tortured.
Guiding questions:
What do you notice about the location of attacks?
What does the fact that “Jews are worth 50 times of non-Jews” tell you about the nature of these attacks?
