Terror Attacks in Mumbai

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Nov 2008 17:58

Sagarika Ghosh: Trying to implicate LK Advani as being unstatesman-like normally and how he was different yesterday. The other females who were anchoring were dumb, but not inflaming. Sagarika came and the anchoring became dumb as well as inflaming. Can she get a life and just report whats going on? Instead of pontificating about LKA or MMS.

What an aberration of a progeny from that great foreign office lady!

Shivani · Post by **Shivani** » 27 Nov 2008 17:59

I despair.

Is there an unwritten precondition that everyone working for a TV news network in India has be an idiot?

Why are these people bleating about "Final Assault"™? This is not a tournament where you have quarter finals and semi finals before the main event.

The final assault started the moment NSG first entered the compounds.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 27 Nov 2008 17:59

19th floor is in the hands of the rats. They will likely to boobytrap the vulnerable points knowing there will be an encounter and set up an ambush to cause the maximum casualties.

May the luck and God be with you warriors.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 27 Nov 2008 18:01

Q: Do the security forces need to know the layout of the hotel ?
EDITED
I am disappointed with the quality of coverage.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Nov 2008 18:02

The fire in the Taj is not bellowing out anymore. It seems to have dropped a bit in intensity. Still some work left to control it though.

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 27 Nov 2008 18:02

improve community relations.
Help the majority understand what makes a terrorist.
And when I am talking of action, I am not suggesting an all out war, but proactive action across the borders.

Birather Snehal, please visit the "Khabar-e-Jehad" thread, and you will find like-minded altruists. Like myself. Peace, brotherhood, sisterhood, goathood, gahha-hood and just plain hoods. All present in abundance.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:02

CNN IBN reporting intel sources have told them LeT has been developing maritime capability off the Karachi Coast. SPG team was also present at the Trident as MMS was supposed to be there on Friday. Had left just 45 minutes before the attack on the Trident began.

milindc · Post by **milindc** » 27 Nov 2008 18:03

Rishi wrote:http://www.cbr.gov.pk/newcu/igm/kpqi904.pdf

Details of MV Alpha docking at Karachi (Port Bin Quasim) on 20th Nov.

Ship came from China with coke.

Rishi,

Amazing digging of info about MV Alpha. I tried to look for Nov info on the same site, but didn't find any revenue info.
Makes sense that this ship is speculated to have carried the scum.. I think the info probably came from captured scum. Definitely ISI op

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 27 Nov 2008 18:03

Take this with a pinch of salt: I did report a while ago that there was an Al Qods/Hezbollah cell ready to target Western/Israeli interests in India, ready to go into action. This attack is clearly targetted at the west. The terrorists wore black t-shirts (shia's like to wear black).

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Nov 2008 18:05

Let me elaborate... when I say drop the fight, I mean drop the fight between people. We need to overcome our prejudice again religion/nation.

Nobel thinking. However, today, everyone needs to be in that mode. Everyone without ANY exceptions. Starting with getting rid of "National interests". Down to getting rid of the word "Infidel".

Having said that let me also state that we ALL are here because either our ancestors fought and won, surrendered without a fight, surrendered with a fight or ran away. Human history has been very, very violent in the past 2000 years or so. And, like the unburnt stuff in Cali, so too today we have unburnt stuff that pops up and takes advantage of "democracy". At some point in time we ALL will have to declare a state of emergency and fight this menace. Even the US - today - is under siege, just that we in the US have got used to walking through security in all our airports. At some point in time this will fail too and we all will have to resort to getting rid of "Infidel". As long as there is one group who thinks they are superior (in whatever respect - including West thinking they are better or Whites thinking they are better, caste-ism) this problem will remain.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 27 Nov 2008 18:06

Mumbaikars fight terrorists seizing Israeli hostages firing at them with stones.What heroes!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... India.html

Mumbai attacks: Neighbours battle terrorists attacking Jewish centre
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.

Last Updated: 11:35AM GMT 27 Nov 2008

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.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... =12&page=2

India searches Pakistani boat after night of horror in Bombay

(Peter Keep/Reuters)
Flames gush out of The Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay following the attack by gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenades

Rhys Blakely and Jeremy Page in Bombay, and Philippe Naughton
It felt like India's 9/11 |
Updated at 12.45 GMT (18.15 Bombay)

India's Prime Minister today laid the blame for a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in Bombay which killed more than 100 people on the shoulders of forces "based outside the country" - as the Indian navy searched a cargo ship said to have come from Pakistan.

As Manmohan Singh gave a televised appeal for unity to the nation, the Indian Navy boarded the MV Alpha, off the Bombay coast, a boat that had allegedly been used by the gunmen and was believed to have come from Karachi.

'Free our Mujahideens' demand terrorists
Terrorists wanted to destroy symbol of splendour
ANALYSIS: a new tactic by Islamist militants

Video: Bombay carnage
In Pictures: Bombay terror

As a diplomatic row threatened to emerge, known Pakistani extremist groups were quick to deny responsibility for the attacks this morning and the Pakistani government condemned them.

Today, the crisis was continuing with loud blasts heard all around Bombay as Indian commandos moved to rescue the last foreign hostages still stuck in the Oberoi/Trident hotel.

Indian authorities believe the gunmen and hostage-takers arrived in Bombay by boat near the colonial-era landmark the Gateway of India before fanning out across the southern part of the city to hit targets including a backpacker pub, hospitals and a railway station, where they fired indiscriminately at passengers. They were armed with AK47 assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives.

Among their targets was the iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where a group of European parliamentarians were staying ahead of an EU-India summit, and the nearby Oberoi/Trident hotel. Both are popular with foreign visitors and business people as well as with rich locals and witnesses said that the gunmen sought out Britons and Americans among the guests.

More than 100 people were killed in the attacks on India's financial capital, among them at least six foreigners. Indian officials said that the dead included a Briton, an Australian and a Japanese, although the Foreign Office was unable to confirm the Briton's death.

Mr Singh broadly hinted that he believed extremists from Pakistan had caused the attack and hostage-takings, claiming those who committed the attacks had "external linkages".

"It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country," he said.

Today, loud blasts were heard around Bombay as Indian commandos moved to rescue the last foreign hostages stuck in the Oberoi/Trident hotel.

A.N. Roy, the Maharashtra state police chief, said that all foreign hostages taken at the Taj Mahal Hotel had been rescued, although as many as 100 guests were still trapped inside their rooms after a night of gunfights between security forces and the terrorists in the burning hotel.

Mr Roy said that some people were, however, still apparently being held hostage at the Oberoi/Trident, another five-star landmark. "That is why the operation is being conducted more sensitively to ensure there are no casualties of innocent people," he said.

This afternoon a succession of loud blasts were heard amid reports that armed operation had begun to rescue an Israeli rabbi taken hostage at a Jewish centre, and against the gunmen still holed up at the Oberoi. There was also a loud blast at the Taj.

Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, of the ultra-Orthodox outreach group Chavad-Lubavitch, was seized along with his wife and young daughter, although news reports said that the two females had been released.

Officals said that more than 300 people were injured in last night's attacks, at least seven of them British. Sir Richard Stagg, the British High Commissioner in India, told the BBC: "India has had to handle terrorism for many decades, so its not a new phenomenon, but this is a new manifestation of it."

Eleven police officers, including the chief of Bombay’s anti-terror squad, were killed in stand-offs with gunmen. At least eight terrorists were killed and nine arrested.

The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group, the Deccan Mujahedeen, which demanded the release of all Mujahidee, or Islamic holy warriors, in Indian jails. The co-ordinated attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, but there was no sign of any link with the terror network.

One militant inside the Oberoi/Trident, identifying himself only as Sahadullah, told an Indian television station by telephone: "Release all the mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled."

The Press Trust of India today quoted an "authoritative source" that the gunmen were Pakistani nationals, but witnesses described said them as young Indians speaking either Hindi or Urdu.

A Conservative MEP for the North West of England was among those caught up in the drama and told today how how security forces fought gunmen "floor by floor and room by room" in an attempt to gain control.

Sajjad Karim was forced to flee to a "safe" basement after gunmen stormed the the Taj hotel. Mr Karim said: "The situation in the city is still ongoing but certainly at the Taj I think it is over. I was in a room that was completely sealed off but I could hear what was going on."

Alex Chamberlain, a British guest at the Oberoi/Trident, managed to flee his captors via a fire escape. "They told everybody to stop and put their hands up and asked if there were any British or Americans," he said. "My friend said to me, ’don’t be a hero, don’t say you are British.’"

Britain and the US led global condemnation of the attacks and Pakistan called for strict measures to root out extremism in south Asia. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for intensified regional co-operation against terrorism.

Gordon Brown said that he had sent his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh a message assuring that "the UK stands solidly with his government as they respond, and to offer all necessary help".

"These outrageous attacks in Mumbai will be met with a vigorous response," he said.

There was similar condemnation of the "horrific" attacks from the US State Department as President-elect Barack Obama said it showed the need for Washington to work with other nations to "root out and destroy terrorist networks". "These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism," said Brooke Anderson, Mr Obama’s chief national security spokesman.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Nov 2008 18:06

Shyamd, lets take this a little later. Let the ops finish. My first thoughts on seeing the pics were LTTE black tigers in collaboration with the Iranians and pakis.

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 27 Nov 2008 18:07

The cops have got at least half a dozen terrorists in custody by now.

Somewhere there are intelligence officers with a glint in their eyes, putting on gloves for a rough PR Examination of these guys.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 27 Nov 2008 18:08

Sagarika is reaching the hieghts of dumbness. The trawler was hijacked, the ship has a dead body. The trawler was from Porbander. She wants to know why didnt CG/IN couldnt pick up the trawler.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:08

Arnab Goswami of Times Now has been on air for a straight 24 hours (almost) now. 800 rooms remain to be searched as per Times Now.

milindc · Post by **milindc** » 27 Nov 2008 18:08

An abandoned fishing trawler found on Mumbai coast, bodies found in boat.
The scums probably hijacked the boat and brought it in the harbour.
Another boat found abandoned on porbandar.

Per CNN-IBN

amdavadi · Post by **amdavadi** » 27 Nov 2008 18:09

Anyone has link to watch times now online?

We need to finish piglets now, forget how rest of the world will react.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:11

{Vishal:

Please don't post what u see on TV here. Many terrorists coordinators sitting outside India cannot see what you see on the boob-tube screen, but they sure can see your posts here. If you feel compelled to help them keep their communications going, please consider moving your posting to PakDef.com

I have edited several of your posts to try to take out tactical info / identifying signals etc.

Face it: You are NOT smart enough to restrain yourself from posting this stuff, with your fingers working a heck of a lot faster than your brain. Hence you are DEFINITELY NOT smart enough to figure out which of the items you post will give the terrorists an edge in this or other attacks, and result in the death(s) of innocents and law enforcement professionals seeking to protect or save those innocents.

There will be no more warnings. }

Vivek Sreenivasan · Post by **Vivek Sreenivasan** » 27 Nov 2008 18:11

06:07 PM: 70 more people have been evacuated from Trident.

kunal anand · Post by **kunal anand** » 27 Nov 2008 18:13

It is an act of war by group of assassins better trained than ordinary soldier. So many casualities of policemen suggests either head shots or armour piercing bullets or both. RIP all shaheeds. I HOPE something started by the PIGS would be brought to logical conclusion by Indians for a possible long term solution to this cancer, we have agreed to live with for past 61 years. I really don't have words to describe my feelings. MMS is saying he will take up the issue with the neighbour - what does it mean? We almost went to war over parliament attack and said we wont let it happen again, and now when something 1000 times worse has happened, he wants to go and talk???

Mathew G · Post by **Mathew G** » 27 Nov 2008 18:14

"We are all sitting ducks when the government keep doing nothing". Ordinary civilian reacting on the government's ineptitude on CNN IBN.

Mathew G · Post by **Mathew G** » 27 Nov 2008 18:17

kunal anand wrote:It is an act of war by group of assassins better trained than ordinary soldier. So many casualities of policemen suggests either head shots or armour piercing bullets or both. RIP all shaheeds. I HOPE something started by the PIGS would be brought to logical conclusion by Indians for a possible long term solution to this cancer, we have agreed to live with for past 61 years. I really don't have words to describe my feelings. MMS is saying he will take up the issue with the neighbour - what does it mean? We almost went to war over parliament attack and said we wont let it happen again, and now when something 1000 times worse has happened, he wants to go and talk???

America reacted to their 9/11. India needs to do the same, at this time of question;

Or we'll all be branded whimps.

Rishi · Post by **Rishi** » 27 Nov 2008 18:18

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23mumbai

Live twitter updates

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Nov 2008 18:20

Rishi wrote:http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23mumbai
Live twitter updates

This after

1108 Indian government asks for live Twitter updates from Mumbai to cease immediately. "ALL LIVE UPDATES - PLEASE STOP TWEETING about #Mumbai police and military operations," a tweet says.

Mathew G · Post by **Mathew G** » 27 Nov 2008 18:21

OMG

They're using Type 56, not 47s. The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47, Guess who has these chinese variants?

milindc · Post by **milindc** » 27 Nov 2008 18:22

Taj GM has lost his wife and kids. ....
really sad... my heart goes out to him.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:24

AN Roy on Times Now (not live)

Atleast 2 terrorists have been shot in Taj
All guests in Taj are safe
Total of 7 killed so far
It is taking time because safety of hostages is paramount
All terrorists will either be killed or captured
It is safe for Mumbaikars to go out

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 27 Nov 2008 18:24

Peter Bergen is on CNN now. He is not shy of indicating that Pakistan is likely to be involved in this as in the case of several past attacks on India. - to setup the audience to receive the key information

He also came across fair and balanced regarding Indian intelligence agencies (refused to blame them for lapse in this case) and Indian muslims (refused to get caught in the ideologies so far). - Another setup to condition the mind to receive the information.

He also talks about bringing about a close relation between India and Pakistan to solve this issue permanently. - Actual message that is being peddled

Looks like Obama plan is being put into action already. Man these guys are terrific in pushing their agenda while coming across as objective.

Now Zain Vergee is bringing in local election into the mix...
She also vomits the western view that any small flare up between India and Pakistan will result in Nuclear war...
She also mentions the terrorists as muslims

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 27 Nov 2008 18:25

What the **** IBN reporters are spouting? Terrorists had ak52's, ATS chief faced them with .303 and .303 jammed!

A bolt action rifle jammed?

ManuT · Post by **ManuT** » 27 Nov 2008 18:25

kunal anand wrote:It is an act of war

It is an act of War. BR all chapters should meet.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:28

Times Now saying only 1 arrest has been confirmed as against a report of a 2nd one being captured alive. Two NSG commandos in critical condition. Terrorists are using grenades freely to beat back NSG commandos, seemingly sacks of them. DG NSG being quoted as saying a clean operation is becoming difficult. They want to take the terrorists before they run low on ammo and become desparate.

DG NSG has ordered a change in tactics.

VRao · Post by **VRao** » 27 Nov 2008 18:29

terrorists holed up in Room No 473 of the Taj Hotel have killed 70-80 people in cold blood....

Source: http://www.bharatchronicle.com/

This was reported at 6:00 PM so likely the death toll with rise much more. How cold blooded can these Terrorists be!!

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 27 Nov 2008 18:30

Mathew G wrote:Cmon mullahs, Why not declare a fatwa against terrorists? Why don't you do that??

Isn't it suprising (or is it?) that we never hear any muslim cleric do that.

Already done some time back....nt supporting them but answering ur question....http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/08/ ... 226199440/

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 27 Nov 2008 18:30

TimesNow is saying 10 came from Pakistan, and six locals joined. Out of 16, 5 have been gunned down and 1 is captured. So, ten more to go.

NSG is also saying that these terrorists are extremely well trained and their operations, including starting fires tactically, show a high degree of training. NSG commandos have also come under heavy firing.

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 27 Nov 2008 18:32

OK, folks, it is official.

1108 Indian government asks for live Twitter updates from Mumbai to cease immediately. "ALL LIVE UPDATES - PLEASE STOP TWEETING about #Mumbai police and military operations," a tweet says.

Please read and think about that. Any postor ignoring that, may be deleted without warning. Lets see: Lives of law enforcement officers and hostages on the one hand --- your posting rights on the other hand. Which is more important?

Nah! No contest. you lose.

Vishal, please note, but several others here as well - please note. I would add that "live" extends to several hours because terrorist coordinators in say the US etc are just waking up and checking BRF to see what's new.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:32

Times Now reporting local politicians descending upon Trident looking for a free ride and putting up a sideshow.

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 27 Nov 2008 18:32

vishal wrote:DG NSG has ordered a change in tactics.

Even a change of tactics is public news now... Man Why isn't a ban being placed officially on the media from revealing tactical information, nstead of sending out twitter based requests or just the policemen on site requesting the journalists.

Shivani · Post by **Shivani** » 27 Nov 2008 18:34

Cable TV services have been suspended in parts (all?) of Mumbai.
DTH providers will do roaring business in the next few days.

vishal · Post by **vishal** » 27 Nov 2008 18:36

Times Now: GOC-in-C Western Command arrives at Nariman House. The area is crawling with brass now. Something is up for sure.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 27 Nov 2008 18:39

Details of the Nariman House hostage seige.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? ... 2FShowFull

'Eight Israelis held by terrorists in Mumbai Chabad House'
By DAVID HOROVITZ, MATTHEW WAGNER, AND JPOST STAFF

Indian commandos and police were evacuating civilians and cordoning off the area apparently in preparation to storm the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, where a rabbi, his wife and several other Israelis were being held hostage, according to IBN, an Indian news agency.

Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and wife Rivka with their son.
Photo: Courtesy: http://col.org.il/

Slideshow: Terror in Mumbai Chabad spokesman in Israel, Moni Ender, said there were eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka Holtzberg.

Several other Israelis were reportedly being held at the Oberoi Hotel, Israel Radio reported.

Newscasters were calling it the "final assault" on the Nariman House, where Chabad headquarters are located, adjacent to the Leopold Cafe, a major tourist center in Mumbai's Colaba area, which was also attacked Wednesday night.

RELATED
Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg's Mumbai mission
According to a report by Reuters, the terrorists have expressed their desire to negotiate with the Indian government for the release of the hostages. The government, however, has repeatedly stated that it will not negotiate.

Several senior Indian police and security officers have been killed in the joint attack, which has caused police to take more cautious measures before storming the Chabad House, said Indian reporters.

The Bullet-riddled facade of the Mumbai Chabad House, Thursday.
Photo: AP

Earlier, Reuters reported that one terrorist had been killed by Indian special forces in the Chabad House, but four others still remained barricaded inside, where they were holding off efforts to reach those inside.

Sky News reported that a loud explosion had been heard at the Chabad House. There was no official word as to the cause of the explosion, which could indicate the onset of an attempt to storm the compound.

On Thursday morning, Moshe Holtzberg, the toddler son of the Chabad emissaries, was rushed from the house in the arms of one of the Chabad House's employees, Sandra Samuel.

"I took the child, I just grabbed the baby and ran out," said Samuel, 44, who has worked as a cook for the center for the last five years.

She said that the rabbi and his wife, along with two other unidentified guests, were alive but unconscious.

"Pray that we should hear good news," urged a Chabad spokesman, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, in a telephone conversation with The Jerusalem Post from New York in the early hours of Thursday morning, Israel time.

Shmotkin also said that the had gunmen seized a police vehicle, which allowed them access to the area around the Chabad House.

Joshua Runyan, the news editor of the Chabad.org/news website, told the Post that there had been "several reports that shots were fired in the vicinity of the Chabad House, and unconfirmed reports on CNN of casualties in the Nariman House." Nariman House, Runyan said, was the original name of the Chabad House, which was purchased two years ago.

Runyan, who is in Jerusalem, said that a friend of the rabbi's had received an email from Holtzberg, unrelated to the attacks, at around the time of the attacks or shortly before they began, but that there had been no contact with Holtzberg since. "Since then, we've been trying all the numbers," he said.

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem confirmed that hostages had been taken in the Chabad House area. The ministry had yet to make contact with some 20 Israelis in the Mumbai area.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke with the Israeli consul general in Mumbai, who briefed her on the attacks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, the ministry and the consulate were making "maximum efforts to ascertain the situation of the Israelis in the city as quickly as possible."

Livni sharply condemned the attacks, saying, "This is further painful evidence that the terrorist threat is the greatest challenge which Israel and the international community have to face. Nothing justifies the unforgivable slaughter of innocents."

Indian news agencies reported that three people were killed in or close to the Chabad House. The dead were not hostages, the reports said.

Phone calls by the Post to the Chabad House and to the Holtzbergs went unanswered late Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Friends of the Holtzbergs placed messages on various Internet sites appealing for information about them.

Israel Radio reported that consulate staff were visiting local hospitals. Runyan said the Chabad House was a popular tourist destination and that "Israelis regularly come by and visit."

In an article on the chabad.org Web site, Runyan wrote that "Chabad-Lubavitch representatives in New York and Israel are working alongside the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the US Consulate in Mumbai and a volunteer team of local residents to ascertain the well being of the Holtzbergs and other Jews in the area."

He added: "People are urged to say Psalms for Gavriel Noach ben Freida Bluma and Rivka bas Yehudis, and anyone affected by the tragedy."

Elie Leshem contributed to this report