2008 Mumbai attacks

"26/11" redirects here. For the date, see November 26.

2008 Mumbai attacks
Part of terrorism in India
Places of the attacks
LocationMumbai, India
Coordinates18°55′19″N 72°50′00″E / 18.92194°N 72.83333°E / 18.92194; 72.83333
Date26 November 2008 (2008-11-26) – 29 November 2008 (2008-11-29)
21:30 (26/11) – 08:00 (29/11) (IST, UTC+05:30)
Attack type
Bombings, mass shootings, mass murder, hostage crisis,[3] siege
WeaponsAK rifles, RDX, IEDs, grenades
Deaths175 (including 9 attackers)[4]
Injured300+[5]
VictimsSee casualty list for complete list
PerpetratorsZakiur Rehman Lakhvi[6][7] and Lashkar-e-Taiba[8][9][10]
No. of participants
10
Defenders
MotiveIslamic terrorism

The 2008 Mumbai attacks[14] (also referred to as 26/11 attacks)[15][a] were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out 12 shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai.[16][17][18] The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, with more than 300 injured.[4][5][19]

Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel,[2] the Leopold Cafe, the Cama Hospital,[2] the Nariman House,[20][21] the Metro Cinema,[1] and in a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College.[2] There was also an explosion at Mazagaon, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle.[22] By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Hotel had been secured by the Mumbai Police and security forces. On 29 November, India's National Security Guards (NSG) conducted Operation Black Tornado to flush out the remaining attackers; it culminated in the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj Hotel and ended the attacks.[23]

Before his execution in 2012, Ajmal Kasab,[24] the sole surviving attacker, claimed that the attackers were members of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba,[25] and were controlled from Pakistan, corroborating initial claims from the Indian Government.[26] Pakistan later confirmed that the sole surviving perpetrator of the attacks was a Pakistani citizen.[27][28] On 9 April 2015, the foremost ringleader of the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was released on bail and disappeared;[29] he was arrested again in Lahore on 2 January 2021.[30][31] In 2018, former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif questioned the Pakistani government's allowance of those who committed the attacks to cross into India.[32] In 2022, one of the masterminds of the attack, Sajid Majeed Mir —who had been earlier claimed to be dead by the Pakistan Government— was convicted for funding terrorist activities by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan.[33][34][35]

  1. ^ a b Magnier, Mark (3 December 2008). "Facing attackers with little more than courage". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d "Wave of Terror Attacks Strikes India's Mumbai, Killing at Least 182". Fox News. 27 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  3. ^ Magnier, Mark; Sharma, Subhash (27 November 2008). "Terror attacks ravage Mumbai". Los Angeles Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  4. ^ a b Bhandarwar, A. H.; Bakhshi, G. D.; Tayade, M. B.; Chavan, G. S.; Shenoy, S. S.; Nair, A. S. (2012). "Mortality pattern of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks". The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 72 (5): 1329–34, discussion 1334. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e31824da04f. ISSN 0022-5282. PMID 22673262. S2CID 23968266. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  6. ^ Masood, Salman (12 February 2009). "Pakistan Backtracks on Link to Mumbai Attacks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  7. ^ Haider, Kamran (12 February 2009). "Pakistan says it arrests Mumbai attack plotters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  8. ^ Aziz, Hadi (12 November 2012). "Pakistan admits Pakistanis, LeT training camps used for Mumbai attacks". The News Tribe. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  9. ^ Nelson, Dean (8 July 2009). "Pakistani president Asif Zardari admits creating terrorist groups". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Pakistan admits Mumbai terror link". The National. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Army preparing for final assault, says Major General Hooda". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 27 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  12. ^ "India Blames Pakistan as Mumbai Siege Ends". Deutsche Welle. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  13. ^ ""War level" security in India after Mumbai attacks". Reuters. 30 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  14. ^ "10 years on, revisiting Mumbai's terror hours". Onmanorama. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  15. ^ "26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks Aftermath: Security Audits Carried Out On 227 Non-Major Seaports Till Date". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  16. ^ Friedman, Thomas (17 February 2009). "No Way, No How, Not Here". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Indian Muslims hailed for not burying 26/11 attackers". Sify News. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  18. ^ Schifrin, Nick (25 November 2009). "Mumbai Terror Attacks: 7 Pakistanis Charged – Action Comes a Year After India's Worst Terrorist Attacks; 164 Die". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  19. ^ Black, Ian (28 November 2008). "Attacks draw worldwide condemnation". The Guardian. London, UK. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  20. ^ Kahn, Jeremy (2 December 2008). "Jews of Mumbai, a Tiny and Eclectic Group, Suddenly Reconsider Their Serene Existence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  21. ^ "Ten years after 26/11 Chabad House continues to stand tall". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Tracing the terror route". The Indian Express. Mumbai. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  23. ^ "Police declare Mumbai siege over". BBC News. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 November 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  24. ^ "Terrorist's name lost in transliteration". The Hindu. Chennai. 6 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
  25. ^ Bajoria, Jayshree (14 January 2010). "Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) (aka Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Lashkar e-Toiba; Lashkar-i-Taiba)". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  26. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Sengupta, Somini (3 December 2008). "Ex-US Official Cites Pakistani Training for India Attackers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  27. ^ "Mumbai siege: 'Kill all the hostages – except the two Muslims'". The Independent. 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  28. ^ Waraich, Omar (8 January 2009). "Pakistan Continues to Resist India Pressure on Mumbai". Time. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  29. ^ "Mumbai attack suspect Lakhvi released on bail in Pakistan". BBC News. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  30. ^ Tanveer, Asim (2 January 2021). "Pakistan arrests key militant on terror financing charges". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  31. ^ Bukhari, Mubasher (2 January 2021). "Pakistan arrests alleged militant group leader Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi on terrorism financing charge". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  32. ^ Imran, Mohammad (14 May 2018). "'What did I say that was wrong?': Nawaz responds to controversy around remarks on Mumbai attacks". Dawn. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2023. "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai?" [Nawaz Sharif] had asked [...]
  33. ^ "Pakistan quietly jails 26/11 handler Sajid Mir for 15 years". The Times of India. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours". The Week. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022. was earlier declared dead by Pakistan, has been jailed for over 15 years in a terror-financing case
  35. ^ "Pakistan Court Sentences 26/11 Terror Attack Mastermind to 15 Years in Jail". The Wire. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022. Pakistani authorities had in the past claimed he had died, but Western countries remained unconvinced and demanded proof of his death.


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