No timeframe for Mumbai operation: Indian Army

By IANS,

Mumbai : As terrorists continued to hold civilians hostage in Mumbai for the second day Thursday, the Indian Army said it had put its best men on the job to flush out the militants but refused to give a timeframe on when the operation would be over.


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“Do not ask for a timeframe for the operation. But rest assured that the best people are here for the job,” Major General R.K. Hooda, the Indian Army’s general-officer-commanding (Maharashtra), told reporters here.

He was referring to the gunbattle at the Oberoi Trident, one of the two five-star hotels where the terrorists barged in Wednesday night, soon after landing on the city’s coast near the Gateway of India monument with arms and ammunition.

The terrorists are believed to be holding about 30-40 people – Indians as well as Westerners – hostage at the Oberoi Trident.

“There are nearly 800 rooms in the hotel and we have to search each and every room. There can be militants there or innocent occupants. We will look out for explosives and dispose them,” he added.

Terrorists had struck in at least 10 places in Mumbai Wednesday night, claiming over 100 lives and injuring 285. They took people hostage at the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and Nariman House. The hostage situation was cleared at the Taj Mahal hotel by afternoon, but continued in the other two places.

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