10 years after 26/11: A timeline of the attacks and events that followed

The ghastly attacks lasted for four days killing 166 people and injuring over 300.

Business Standard : Ten years ago on this day, India's financial capital Mumbai faced the worst terror attack after 10 heavily armed terrorists sailed into the city.

Twenty-Six Eleven, as these attacks are often referred to as, witnessed 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists coming to Mumbai via sea route from Pakistan and carrying out a series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city.

The ghastly attacks lasted for four days killing 166 people and injuring over 300.

After sailing to the city under the cover of darkness, the terrorists targeted major landmarks of Mumbai with first attack taking place at the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station. Ajmal Amir Kasab and Ismail Khan carried out the attack at this station, killing as many as 58 people and injuring over 100. Kasab and Khan later entered to attack Cama Hospital, but the same was thwarted with the alertness of the hospital staff. They however killed 6 police officials, including city's Anti-Terrorism Squad Hemant Karkare in an ambush after leaving the hospital.

The second site of the attack was Nariman House business and residential complex where a Rabbi, his wife, and six others, including five Israeli citizens, were killed by the terrorists who first held them as hostage. The two-year-old child of the Rabbi couple, Moshe, survived in the attack. Then 'Baby Moshe' became a face of the innocent victims of ruthless terrorism. In July 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Moshe during his visit to Israel. Later, in January 2018 the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on also met the survivor of 26/11, Moshe Holtzberg at Nariman House in Mumbai.

The third site to come under attack on 26/11 was the Leopold Cafe followed by Taj Mahal Hotel and Tower. Four terrorists carried out the attack at the famous cafe before entering the iconic Taj hotel, where they killed as many as 31 people after laying a three-day siege at the hotel.

The other site to come under attack during the 26/11 was Oberoi-Trident hotel where another group of two terrorists entered at almost the same time, as other four had entered Taj. At Oberoi-Trident hotel the siege officially ended on the evening of November 28 with as many as 30 being killed in the horrific attack.

The attack and seize finally culminated on the morning of 29th November 2008, after the National Security Guards (NSG) secured the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

By the time commandos of the National Security Guards (NSG) gunned down the last terrorists who had been holed up in south Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, over 160 people were killed and hundreds were left injured.

After the attack, it was established that the 10 terrorists had sailed to Mumbai from Pakistan's port city, Karachi. Their voyage to Mumbai involved hijacking a fishing dingy and killing four of the five men crew, leaving one occupant to ferry them to Mumbai coast.... Read More

Aussie film 'Hotel Mumbai' is fictional recreation of 2008 Mumbai attacks

Hotel Mumbai tackles a delicate subject that is still very raw for many of the 2008 Mumbai attacks survivors.

Three years after French director Nicolas Saada's "Taj Mahal", which focused on a single site of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Australian filmmaker Anthony Maras' debut narrative feature, "Hotel Mumbai", enters the precincts of the iconic property and presents a fictional recreation of the violence perpetrated on India's financial capital by heavily armed terrorists a decade ago and the remarkable resilience displayed by the staff and guests that were caught unawares.

"The film is about one of the most terrible incidents imaginable, but it is also about people from different groups cutting across ethnicity, race and class coming together to fight off the attackers," Maras said at a press conference after the world premiere of "Hotel Mumbai" at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival.

In a reaction that is typical of Indian journos covering the festival, the film was critiqued by some ever-touchy quarters for not mentioning Pakistan by name as the perpetrator of the heinous act of terrorism, as if the role of elements in the neighbouring nation is in any need of reiteration. In any case, it would not have changed the story or its emphasis in any way.

In response to a question, the director, known for several awarded shorts, said, "'Hotel Mumbai' is an anthem of resistance and tenacity. The hotel restaurant was up and running within three weeks of the attack and the damaged structure was restored to its old glory in 21 months. That is the spirit that my film celebrates," added Maras.

"The overarching narrative," said Maras, "is that 500 people were caught up in a situation and fought their way through with exemplary courage."

He pointed out that the film does not view only the four gunmen who wreaked havoc in the Taj weren't as guilty. "Their handlers were just as culpable," he said.

The star-studded cast of "Hotel Mumbai", shot in Adelaide and Mumbai, is led by Dev Patel, who plays a Sikh concierge who goes beyond the line of duty to protect the guests whose lives were at grave risk during the siege.

"It tackles a delicate subject that is still very raw for many of the survivors. It humanizes the situation," he told the media.

"Hotel Mumbai" also stars Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher and Jason Isaacs. Kher is cast as the Taj Mahal Hotel's real-life head chef Hemant Oberoi.

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