59-hour Mumbai terror siege comes to end

　　India's longest terror nightmare that lasted for almost 59 hours ended Saturday as commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG), the Indian Army and the Indian Navy eliminated three militants who had taken over the iconic Taj Mahal hotel.

　　"Finally, we have been able to win the battle and do the job (assigned to us)," NSG head J.K. Dutt told reporters.

　　Plumes of thick, black smoke billowed out of the ground floor windows at the hotel's northern end after two retail outlets were torched Saturday to smoke out the militants.

　　Some 200 commandos from the NSG, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Mumbai police launched the attack, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported.

　　Saturday was the culmination of a four-day anti-militant operation that began Wednesday evening when several armed men, probably two dozen and armed with grenades and automatic rifles, sneaked into the city by boat.

　　Police later said that the militants divided themselves into several groups and quickly struck several places in south Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal hotel, the nearby Oberoi-Trident hotel and a Jewish center.

　　They shot at people indiscriminately and hurled grenades, killing over 150 people.

　　On Friday, the commandos first took control of the Oberoi hotel and then the Jewish center. Thousands living all around the building took to the streets, shouting slogans and hailing the security forces.

　　But the three gunmen at the Taj Mahal held on despite being outnumbered by well-trained commandos.

　　A total of 25 explosions, small and big, were heard in the hotel all through Friday, and gunfire rattled the hotel and fires frequently erupted from different rooms, IANS reported.

　　Scores of hostages, many of them westerners, Friday finally walked out of the two hotels and the Jewish center after two nights and days of trauma and a narrow brush with death. A few broke down while others were too stunned to react when the commandos found them, hiding in their rooms, IANS said.

　　The NSG lost two men, and 14 Mumbai police personnel were killed including the head of its Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Hemant Karkare.

　　Fourteen militants were killed, while one has been captured, according to the IANS.

　　印度反恐突击队员29日击毙最后3名据守孟买泰姬玛哈饭店的武装人员。长达59个小时的恐怖袭击终于结束。

　　法新社报道,孟买自26日晚遭受的连环恐怖袭击事件已造成至少195人死亡、295人受伤。

　　孟买警察局长哈桑·加富尔29日宣布:"泰姬玛哈饭店处于我们控制之下,所有(清剿)行动已结束。所有恐怖分子已被击毙。"

　　反恐突击队员当天对躲藏在泰姬玛哈饭店内的武装人员发起攻击,通过窗户向饭店一层投掷手榴弹。双方在饭店内发生不连贯交火,不时听到巨大爆炸声。

　　印度国家安全卫队指挥官乔蒂·克里希纳·杜特透露,3名据守在饭店内的武装人员被击毙,"有3名恐怖分子……我们发现3具尸体"。

　　电视画面显示,交火造成饭店一层和二层多处地方起火,冒出滚滚浓烟,数辆消防车在现场救火。饭店白色阳台和红色外墙被熏黑。数辆救护车停在饭店外。

　　清剿行动结束后,搜救犬被派入饭店。部分突击队员离开在饭店周围的监控位置。一些警察在外线警戒,表情略显轻松。

　　马尼什·蒙德拉志愿给突击队员送食物,曾进入过饭店内部。他说:"大厅绝对是一团糟。家具破碎,到处都是水,那些东西完全无法再使用。"

　　法新社援引孟买市灾难管理部门官员R·贾德哈夫的话说:"截至29日上午,死亡人数为195人,另有295人受伤。"死者中包括至少19名外国人。

　　另外,至少11名武装人员被证实死亡,另有至少1名武装人员遭俘获。英国《泰晤士报》评论道,鉴于泰姬玛哈饭店、奥贝罗伊饭店和"加巴德大屋"内发现多名死亡人质,印度方面清剿武装人员的胜利只是"空洞的胜利"。