Terror attack in Mumbai commemorated

MUMBAI: India yesterday marked six years since militants stormed Mumbai in three days of horror that left 166 people dead, as survivors said they would never be “beaten back by terror”.

Families of victims and politicians laid flowers and wreaths at sites around the city to remember those slain when Islamist gunmen stalked luxury hotels, a café, a train station and a Jewish centre.

“Today, as we remember the horror of the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, we feel the endless pain of lost lives,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a regional summit in Kathmandu.

“Let us work together to fulfil the pledge we have taken to combat terrorism and transnational crimes.”

TV footage was beamed around the world as commandos battled the gunmen, who arrived by sea on the night of November 26. It took authorities three days to regain control.

India blames the attacks on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Tense relations between the rival neighbours hit a fresh low as New Delhi pressed Islamabad to bring the masterminds to justice.

Sourav Mishra remembers having a beer with two friends at Leopold Café, popular with tourists, when a grenade exploded at the next table and militants opened fire.

“Something went off with a flash and the guy there crumpled. I was sipping beer, and then death had become a real possibility as blood soaked my clothes,” said Mishra, who was wounded.