While a terrorist attack of this scale which has upset and undermined the massive Indian Army cannot be thrown together overnight। it is obvious such an attack requires coordinated planned, scouting, external financing, training, and a infrastructure to aid the fighters। According to sporadic emails sent to local newspapers in India, an Islamic terrorist group called the Deccan Mujaheddin has claimed sole responsibility for these attacks. Obviously from the scale of destruction it is apparent that very few terrorist organizations have the capacity to pull such a totalitarian attack .
It may still be premature to comment on what really has happened in the aftermath of what is now correctly known as the War On Mumbai as the blood of innocent civilians lies still fresh in pools on the airports and train stations and the smoke from the grenades still lingers over the so called New York City of India. Just now the reports have confirmed the last of the 25 terrorists that were believed to have entered Mumbai by sea have been killed in a direct gun battle with automatic weapons and grenades. After landing, the terrorist attack teams initiated a battle at a police station, then fanned across the city to attack the soft underbelly of hotels, cafes, cinemas, and hospitals. Civilians were gunned down and taken hostage, while terrorists looked for people carrying foreign passports.
The Mumbai War has become a modern time example of Urban Warfare. As the smoke settles this war may very well go into 20th century history as Seige Warfare an example of urban warfare in densely populated region. The time it took for Indian authorities to combat these terrorists and bring situation under full control and reestablish peace was quite long and could be due to number of reasons. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and logistical and tactical level. Further more the complicating factors in Mumbai war include the presence of civilians, hostages, foreigners and buildings of all sorts with unknown floor plans (for example the Taj Hotel has 400 rooms most of their floor plans were not known to the commandoes during counter attack and sequestering mission). Some civilians may be difficult to distinguish from combatants especially in country such as India as compared to armed militants, gangs or terrorists, particularly if individuals are simply trying to protect their homes from the attackers. Tactics are complicated by a complex 3D environment including electric poles and other infrastructure that poses limited FOV (Field of View) for snipers and lasers, along with smog, smoke and fire from grenade launches because of buildings, enhanced concealment and cover for defenders, below ground infrastructure, and the ease of placement of booby traps.
At least 160 people are now dead and numerous have been wounded. Anarchy. Bottom line for democracies to think : How easy is it to take over a city ? How about taking over a country ? How can we develop new tools and technologies to prevent such organized crime. Mumbaians were already utilizing twitter (sms to web) tools and google maps to present attack sites to the citizens of the world. The war on Mumbai was a prime example of cutting edge social networking to fight terrorism.
At this time the blog is still being edited.
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