ISLAMOFILE 120108: Mumbai May Have Five More Terrorists At Large

Indian Black Cat Commando Rhys Blakely in Mumbai

At least five terrorist gunmen might have escaped the carnage in Mumbai and could strike again, it emerged yesterday as a video surfaced showing the capture of the gang’s sole known surviving member.

The prospect of more killers added to public anger at the Indian Government’s lax handling of the worst terror strike to hit the country in 15 years.

The security forces claimed that only ten militants – nine of whom were killed and one caught alive – were behind the coordinated attacks that claimed nearly 200 lives. Rakesh Maria, a joint commissioner of police, said: “Their plan was just to cause maximum damage and return with hostages protecting themselves.”

However, a hijacked Indian fishing boat used by the gunmen had equipment for 15 men on board when it was discovered adrift – suggesting that several gunmen could still be at large.

“Fifteen winter jackets were found, fifteen toothbrushes,” a police source said. “That more terrorists are loose is possible.”

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only gunman to be caught alive, said during police questioning that 24 men were trained in camps in Pakistan for the mission, according to a leaked account of his police interrogation.

He has since claimed, apparently, that only ten made the final trip to Mumbai, including him. Police are continuing to question the 21-year-old, who has said that he and his accomplices planned to kill 5,000 people.

Security experts say that a force of ten heavily armed men could carry out an operation on the scale of the Mumbai strike only if they received extensive training and local support.

Investigators believe that at least five or six additional people were immediately involved in preparing for the attacks by organising logistics and carrying out reconnaissance.

Grainy mobile phone footage broadcast yesterday by Sky Television sheds little light on the militants’ methods, but it documents the capture of the “baby-faced gunman”.

It shows Kasab’s last stand: a small crowd is seen shouting and beating a man lying on the ground in a Mumbai street as police officers, blowing whistles and waving long sticks, try to restore order.

Police say that Kasab arrived with the other militants in two dinghies that moored on the seafront by the Gateway of India, near the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. The militants then commandeered several cars and set off towards ten different sites across the city.

Kasab and one other gunman, Abu Ismail, headed straight for Chhat-rapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai’s main railway station, where they opened fire with AK47s, killing dozens. It was there that he was photographed, holding his AK47 in one hand, in an image that has been seen around the world.

“They were right there,” recalled Sebastian D’Souza, the man who took the photograph, pointing to the spot on the platform where he first saw the gunmen. “They never raised their guns, they were very cool. They just kept firing from their hips,” he told Sky News.

“I saw lots of people shot dead, just lying there, nobody caring for them,” he said. “If somebody had engaged them in some crossfire . . . ” But no one did, so Kasab and his accomplice moved on to Cama hospital, according to Mumbai police.

There he and Abu Ismail shot dead three of India’s top police officers who were rushing to the scene in a vehicle. The terrorists continued on their shooting spree, firing shots in the air at the Metro Cinema until their vehicle suffered a puncture.

Kasab and Abu Ismail then stole a golden Skoda Laura and were driving it towards Chowpatty beach, a popular evening destination for families in south Mumbai, when they were intercepted by a police team.

Abu Ismail was killed in the shoot-out, while Kasab was shot in his hand, according to police. It was then that he was attacked by the mob as shown in the mobile phone footage.



Initially he pretended to be dead, and was being taken to hospital when a police officer realised that he was breathing, according to Indian media reports. They said that when he reached hospital he told staff there: “I don’t want to die.” Later, after a police interrogation, he reportedly said: “Now I don’t want to live.” (source)