VZCZCXRO1100
OO RUEHAST RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHBI #0547/01 3321940
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 271940Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6751
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 7989
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 1913
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 1737
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 1942
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0810
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000547 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DS/ER/CC 
DS FRONT OFFICE 
DS/IP/SCA 
DS/DSS/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PTER PGOV IN
SUBJECT: SITREP 3: MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACKS - SECURITY FORCES PREPARE 
FOR DENOUEMENT, AS GUESTS TRICKLE OUT 
 
REF: MUMBAI 546 
 
MUMBAI 00000547  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) At 5 pm, the Consul General, A/RSO, and Acting PAO 
visited the Oberoi/Trident, Taj Palace Hotel, and Nariman 
(Chabad) House sites to gauge the response and strategy of the 
paramilitary and police forces in dealing with the hostage 
situations.  Despite an army and police cordon, the CG's convoy 
moved with ease through the streets.  Thousands of onlookers and 
media representatives thronged the perimeter around the hotels. 
CG saw one foreigner who had been released from the 
Oberoi/Trident walking alone, disheveled, and bewildered along 
the road, followed by a swarm of media asking for comments. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) At Nariman (Chabad) House, the police commanding 
officer told the CG that the four hostages inside were dead.  An 
Israeli-American, Gavriel Holtzberg, his Israeli wife, Rikvah, 
and another American, Laiby Titelbaum, may have been killed. 
(Note:  Due to the continuing police operations at this site, it 
is unclear when these reported deaths can be confirmed.  End 
Note.) The Holtzberg's young son, Moshe, is safe and staying 
with a family friend.  The police commander told the CG that he 
was preparing to storm the building and eliminate the 
terrorists. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the Trident/Oberoi, the police commander told the 
CG that the National Security Guard (NSG) forces continue to 
clear the building slowly, floor by floor, in order to minimize 
casualties.  The RSO team reported that when floors are cleared, 
police are bringing evacuated guests to the nearby Air India 
building for triage.  RSO reports that the Trident has now been 
completely evacuated.  Around 8 pm, several fires broke out at 
the Oberoi and Congenoffs on the scene report that there is at 
least one American trapped in the hotel spa, while others remain 
on the upper floors.  Two Americans have been taken to hospitals 
and treated for gunshot wounds.  It is still believed that at 
least two hostage takers are still controlling the upper floors 
with AK-47s, with an estimated 20-30 hostages of unknown 
nationalities.  The Oberoi management has been confined outside 
the perimeter since last night, and have not been able to 
provide the Consulate information about guests, nationalities, 
or conditions inside the hotel. 
 
¶4. (SBU) At the Taj Mahal Hotel, the CG was not able to approach 
the building due to security concerns, including reports of 
continued firefights.  Police now believe that there is one 
terrorist left in the hotel, and the Legatt representative at 
the site reported that that clearing operations continue slowly 
floor-by-floor.  According to Legatt, the Tower Wing has been 
cleared, but operations are ongoing in the historic Heritage 
wing, which has been severely damaged.  Most of the guests have 
been evacuated from the Taj, but media reports that there may be 
60-80 casualties at the hotel; the wife and two Amcit children 
of the General Manager of the Taj, K.S. Kang, are believed to 
have been killed.  At the moment, Legatt reports that there is 
no specific information going into or coming out of the Taj 
about hostages or guests.  Legatt has also provided the police 
on location with a list of Amcits and their believed locations 
inside the hotel. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In New Delhi, the Charge d'Affairs discussed the 
situation with Gayatri Kumar, Ministry for External Affairs 
Joint Secretary for the Americas, and specifically raised the 
issue of FBI investigative support.  New Delhi will follow-up 
with a formal request to the GoI to allow FBI and USG security 
and law enforcement assistance personnel into India.  CONS New 
Delhi is forwarding text for a proposed Travel Alert for India 
and would continue to coordinate with CMS taskforce on CSI edits 
and changes. 
 
Casualties 
----------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Consular section now presumes four Americans have 
been killed.  Seventeen evacuated Amcits are now at the Taj 
President with a Consular team, and another team has been 
dispatched to provide assistance to 12 Amcits at the Wellington 
 
MUMBAI 00000547  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Mews, another Taj property.  Teams have also been sent to 
hospital morgues to identify possible Amcits.  We will update as 
soon as more info becomes available. 
 
The Blame Game Begins 
---------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) As the crisis reaches its climax, the news media has 
begin to blame the usual culprits for the attacks, and the 
Indian government for its response.  Prime Minister Singh 
claimed that "external forces" are responsible for the attacks, 
and vowed to take this matter up strongly with "neighboring 
countries."  The media is reporting that at least one of the 
arrested terrorists is a Pakistani national, and that the 
terrorists entered Mumbai by boat from Pakistan via Gujarat's 
Rann of Kutch.  One of the suspected terrorists at Nariman 
House, Imran, called into a Hindi-language television station, 
demanding "freedom for Kashmir," among other demands as his 
motivation for the attack.  Neither the government nor the 
police have commented on these reports.  CNN-IBN and other 
networks have also begun to criticize the police and 
government's response to the terrorist attacks.  Given Mumbai's 
recently history of communal tensions, there will be concerns 
that Mumbai's citizens, fueled by opportunistic political 
parties, may take out their anger over this event on local 
Muslims, though the presence of the Army in the city will likely 
prevent that from happening for now.  In a welcome move, 
however, upon his arrival in Mumbai this afternoon, an emotional 
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani told the media, 
"We must unite as Indians to stamp out terrorism. 
FOLMSBEE