29 Nov : After the successful operations at Oberoi-Trident hotel and Nariman House, the Taj hotel remains the only concern for the NSG, which is conducting one of its biggest counter-terror offensives.
"They (terrorists) are changing their positions. We have to also, on the spot, try and change our tactics, strategies," Director General of NSG J K Dutt said when asked about the Taj siege where militants are still holed up.
"From the intensity of the firing and different area they have occupied, I would say there would be two or three of them," he said.
The NSG chief said the final picture will emerge only after the final operation is over and the checking of the room is complete."Our information is that they have been hit," he said and refused to divulge further details.
Oberoi, Nariman House secured
The terror war on Mumbai was on the verge of ending tonight with security forces securing the 5-star Oberoi hotel and a Jewish Centre but a lone gunman continued to hold out inside the Taj hotel at the end of pitched combat that left 30 hostages dead.
At the Centre, a residential complex housing a prayer hall, commandos were air dropped from helicopters in first such operation in urban India the security forces spent the entire day to clear it.
Two terrorists were killed but not before five of the hostages were eliminated by them.A clean-up operation was still on late on Friday at the Centre where the victims reportedly included the Rabbi and his wife.
The might of the Indian security forces had to be brought in to rid these landmarks in the country’s financial capital of the heavily-armed suspected Pakistani terrorists who seized the two hotels and the Centre on Wednesday night, but the costs were heavy on both sides.
When the Oberoi was cleared of the terrorists on Friday afternoon, as many as 30 hostages were found dead raising the toll in the worst terrorist strike against India to over 160 including 16 security personnel.
11 terrorists were also eliminated, one was captured and one, possibly two, were still inside the Taj.
"The Oberoi-Trident is now in under our control. The two terrorists holed up there have been killed," NSG Director General J K Dutt told reporters outside the hotel in south Mumbai.
Six bodies were also recovered from the hotel, he said.
The NSG has recovered two AK-47 assault rifles, one pistol and grenades, some unexploded, from the terrorists, he said, adding the explosives will now be defused.
"We are presently sanitising every room to make sure no undesirable elements are there and relief can be provided to guests there," Dutt said.Earlier a tense Mumbai remained on tenterhooks as security forces gave a major push to end the long and bloody terror siege by militants and rescue the trapped people.
The narrow lanes leading to the Nariman House looked nothing short of a war zone buzzing with heavily armed security personnel.
Initiating the final counter offensive operation, elite commandos of the NSG were airdropped onto the terrace of the Jewish residential complex even as they came under heavy gunfire from the building’s fourth floor.
It took a while before the commandos could secure the terrace as well as the top floor of the six-storeyed building as there rapid fire from terrorists suspected to be the holed up on the fourth floor.
Once, the area had been secured, a reconnaissance helicopter capable of taking high-quality pictures was seen encircling the building for a couple of times before flying away.
Residents including the elderly are believed to have been taken hostage by the terrorists whose number could not be confirmed.Ambulances were put on stand-by along with fire tenders to cope with any eventuality arising out of the tense and nerve-wrecking situation.
Snipers too have been deployed waiting to nail down the terrorists in the first opportunity.Intermittent gunfire erupted on Friday morning in the under-siege Trident (Oberoi) hotel where a grenade explosion was also heard after an overnight lull as NSG commandoes cordoned off the building and choppers circled overhead.
Security personnel have been carrying room-to-room searches to clear the plush hotel of terrorists suspected to be holding people hostage.The roads in South Mumbai, the city’s financial hub which bore the brunt of the terror attacks, were deserted.
Shop and commercial establishments in the Colaba area continued to be remain shut.For the second day, wary people chose to remain indoors, hoping for an early end to the ordeal.