[FAO] Talking Pictures : Mumbai Warzone ~ ForAngelsOnly

At 9:20 pm, two men came on a scooter at Nariman house, near the Bootleggers Pub in Colaba and hurled grenade at a nearby petrol pump.The grenade missed the petrol reservoir but destroyed the facade of station. After hurling the grenade, the terrorists ran into Nariman House building behind petrol pump, which is a Jewish residential building. The terrorists murdered two people there.

A few terrorists then remained holed up silently for hours. They surfaced again in the morning and hold people hostage and the hostage drama still continues.

Four minutes later...

At 9:24 pm suspected terrorists opened indiscriminate firing near the railway station, the headquarters of the Central Railway, which remains crowded almost throughout the day. Hurling grenades and firing at the people, the terrorists left many injured. Death too shattered many families. The hours that followed were harbingers of fear, loss and hopelessness.

A day in the life of the 'Taj'

Away from guests and staff, suave welcomes and prompt services, the Taj, was to experience some visitors on November 26, 2008. Visitors who walked calmly through the service door of the Taj, stormed the hotel and opened fire. They also hurled grenades at the people. Major portions of the hotel have been destroyed by fire. Many were evacuated and rescued; although some are still held hostage in the hotel. For the next two days, a dangerous encounter follows between the commandos and terrorists, in trying to free hostages- explosions and gunshots shaking India's financial capital.

Trident on fire

It was Trident's turn now. At 9:35 pm, on Wednesday, Mumbai's Trident hotel came under attack when terrorists stormed the hotel. A number of people were still trapped inside the hotel. Sources have confirmed two gunmen inside but there could be more. The operation to flush out terrorists is still on. Many innocent lives have been lost in this incident.

Now, at Ville Parle

At 9.55 pm, a taxi blast rocked Ville Parle leaving three dead. The taxi's debris are lying around. Wednesday night, was the beginning of a doom, or so it seems. As if, the sun had set on Mumbai, awaiting a forced summon.

Holed up at the Cama hospital

The terrorists seem to have left no stones unturned. After Ville Parle, they attacked Cama hospital at 10:15 pm and were holed up there till policemen shot them dead and got it cleared.

After the Cama hospital encounter, the police sources have confirmed five people are dead including one police Inspector, two Constables and two watchmen.

With such unprecedented attacks all over Mumbai, sleep would not come easy.

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<> At 10:45 on Wednesday night

Amidst the other shocking attacks in Mumbai, Wadi Bunder, was next in line. There was a blast in a taxi in which 15-16 people were injured in the vicinity. The driver of the taxi is dead.

Faces of terror

These are the terrorists, who are behind the terror attacks in Mumbai on Wednesday night. At least 100 people have been killed and about 240 injured in a series of well-coordinated attacks in the city.

Men who could have gone a different way perhaps; men, who could have been the reason for giving life to someone- instead, they choose hatred? Why, is the question that comes to mind, everytime one sees the deeds they do. Is there an end to this hatred?

Left injured

Mumbai was shaken with terrorist attacks on Wednesday. It was sinister and almost spread doom across the city. The aftermath of the blasts saw the injured taken to GT hospital. From the north to the south of the metropolis, there was panic- a feeling that was to extend over the next two days.

Armed with ammunition

It was an attack, the motive behind which is not immediately clear. An attack that targetted luxury hotels, a railway station and many other places, wounding an innumerable number of people and leaving others dead. Grenades and guns were also found from many of the sites. It's been two days since Wednesday, the battle goes on, and the sounds of the gun firing come raw to the ears, still. While a few have been evacuated, hostages still remain trapped, in some of the sites.

Together in distress

Amidst crisis of any kind, it is only hope that sustains. Distress is not for long when one has the shoulders to lean on. In experiencing one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in India, which took as hostage not only Indians but foreign nationals- perhaps, the world knows, what it is to be together in distress.

In this picture, unidentified guests of The Taj Hotel comfort each other in an ambulance after they were rescued from the hotel in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, November 27, 2008.

We salute the hero

Terrorism summons death. It's tried and has been tested. And so goes the story when on Wednesday night the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad's chief Hemant Karkare was gunned down when he was leading an operation at Mumbai's Taj Hotel against terrorists on Wednesday. He was hit by three bullets in his chest.

A life that perhaps should have never gone- but such are the designs of destiny.

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