Incident Summary:

11/26/2008: On Wednesday night two gunmen attacked the Oberoi-Trident hotel complex. This is one of eight coordinated attacks occurring at various locations in Mumbai that killed a total of 171 people and wounded 250 over the course of three days. In the attack on the Oberoi-Trident hotel complex, two gunmen identified by Police official Maria as Abdul Rehman alias Abdul Rehman Chhota from Multan and Fahadullah alias Abu Fahad from Okara, took over 143 people hostage and killed at least 32 people. Among those killed in the attack were 10 staff members and 22 hotel guests. Victims reported that a gunman had ushered 30 or 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered them to put up their hands. Another gunman was reportedly firing indiscriminately around the room. Deccan Mujahedeen, a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The claim has not been confirmed. Officials suspected Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) were responsible for the attack, although a spokesman for the LeT denied its involvement. Ajmal Kasab, an assailant captured on 11/26/2008, told authorities that the attack was a plan devised six months prior that hoped to kill 5,000 people, targeting whites who were preferably Americans or British. According to Kasab, the assailants posed as students during a visit to Mumbai during the previous month to familiarize themselves with the city’s roads and to film the “strike locations”. Kasab confessed to being a member of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), belonging to the LeT’s Fidayeen (suicide squad). He also identified the masterminds of the attack, who were detained after a raid on an LeT camp on 12/07/2008 and formally indicted on 05/12/2009 for their involvement in the attacks. In May 2010, Kasab was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the attacks.

GTD ID:
200811260010

When:
2008-11-26

Country:
India

Region:
South Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Maharashtra

City:
Mumbai

Location Details:
The attack took place at the Trident Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Business
Name of Entity Oberoi-Trident Hotel
Specific Description The Oberoi-Trident Hotel complex
Nationality of Target India
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages 143
US Hostages Unknown
Days of Kidnapping 3
Outcome Combination
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Unknown Explosive Type
Firearms Automatic Weapon
Weapon Details
AK- 47s were used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?Yes
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information This was one of eight related attacks (cf. 200811130010, 200811260001, 200811260002, 200811260005, 200811260003, 200811260006 and 200811260009). The second assailant that was involved in the attack was identified as Fahadullah alias Abu Fahad . Three Pakistan controllers who communicated with and instructed the assailants during the attack were identified as Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah, Abu Hamza and Abu Qafa. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Yusuf Muzammil were the planners behind the attack. Thirty two of the 143 hostage victims were killed were killed by the militants; the status o f the remaining hostages however is unknown.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Group Sub-name Claimed Responsibility
Deccan Mujahideen No
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Fidayeen Unknown
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 2
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 32 Fatalities / 22 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 32
Number of U.S. Fatalities 6
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 2
Total Number of Injured 22
Number of U.S. Injured 22
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Somni Sengupta and Keith Bradsher, "India Faces Reckoning as Terror Toll Eclipses 170," New York Times, November 29, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html?pagewanted=2&fta=y.
Press Trust of India, "Ismail Killed tTree Cops at Cama: Ajmal," Press Trust of India, November 12, 2008.
Press Trust of India, "Ismail Killed tTree Cops at Cama: Ajmal," Press Trust of India, November 12, 2008.