The meticulously planned and coordinated attacks were all carried out between 9.30 – 9.45pm. The first round of attacks took place at 9.27pm at the Leopold Cafe and Bar – a popular eating joint on Colaba Causeway, one of Mumbai’s busiest thoroughfares. Minutes later, another team, we now know, made up of 21-year-old Mohammad Aslam Kasab – the only terrorist known to have been captured (by the Mumbai Police)and his mate Ismail Khan, arrived by taxi at the CST railway station, entered the main hall, and began firing on people indiscriminately. The gunfire and grenades killed as many as 50 people. As soon as the police force arrived at the site, Khan and Kasab ran out of the station, shot three policemen, took a police van and drove to the Cama and GT hospitals, firing as they went, with police in pursuit. It was here that the pair shot dead the Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and another senior officer. From the hospital, they fled in another vehicle, and in an encounter with the police at Chowpatty in south Mumbai, Kasab was nabbed and disarmed of his assault rifle by an unarmed policeman ASI Tuka Ram Ombale, who clung on to him even in death as five bullets were pumped into his head by Kasab’s partner Khan. The policemen killed Khan and captured Kasab - the sole surviving terrorist. The gunmen used the Hit and Run tactic at CST, and Cafe Leopold and created panic and confusion while the other teams moved into the hotels and the Jewish Centre.

At the Oberoi/Trident, Taj and Nariman House, they immediately started indiscriminate firing and took hostages, most of whom were killed or executed soon after. They used the knowledge of the layout of these buildings to establish strong-points against security – the method here was Seize and Hold - 32 people died in Oberoi, 31 at the Taj, and 7 at Nariman House.

The iconic Taj Mahal Palace, which bore the brunt of the attack and destruction, and The Oberoi Mumbai are the core of the city’s five-star culture, popular spots for Mumbai’s rich, famous and the powerful and also with foreign visitors. These were the ideal targets for terrorists – high-profile yet soft and vulnerable – and guaranteed instant international media coverage.

Mumbai police requested deployment of commandos within 2-3 hours of the situation.NSG Commandos arrived at Mumbai airport at 5.00am on 27 November. Oberoi Trident and Taj Tower were secured the same day, Nariman House and Oberoi on 28^th and Taj Heritage on 29^th morning.

The November 26, 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai killed at least 172 people and injured close to 400 – most were killed on the first night of the attack. This was not the first time Mumbai had come under the terrorist radar. The July 2006 train blasts had killed 209 people and injured 700, but what made 26/11 different was the scale of the coordinated attacks at multiple and diverse targets. The siege of terror continued for 60 hours - a trauma shown live by the news media – at times irresponsibly.

  The five main targets were Leopold Cafe & Bar, CST, Nariman House, Oberoi and the Taj complexes.