Paranoia in India, Commandos Still Fighting

As the death toll increases and commando raids continue in Bombay, India, the big question is about the terrorists: who are these guys? Because of the paranoia that feeds on these situations, Pakistan was the first to be blamed by inference. Pakistan has responded by sending over the head of its intelligence service to help ferret out the truth from the ones who have been captured. To save face, both countries want it to have been planned and executed by people from outside their domains.

One of the commando units recovered a backpack from one of the rooms at one of the besieged hotels. "His team also discovered a gunman’s backpack, which contained dried fruit, 400 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four grenades, Indian and American money, and seven credit cards from some of the world’s leading banks. They pack also had a national identity card from the island of Mauritius, off Africa’s southeastern coast.

The attackers were “very, very familiar with the layout of the hotel,” said the commander, who disguised his face with a scarf and tinted glasses. He said the militants, who appeared to be under 30 years old, were “determined” and “remorseless.”  Rumors being spread also say that British passports have been taken from some of the dead terrorists.

At his time the only information let out is that the terrorists are all young guys under 30 years old, and some Muslim group nobody has ever heard of is claiming responsibility, though they are not telling why this has been done. Sure will ruin the tourist season... But the disturbing aspect is the American money and credit cards, which takes some time to apply for and collect, if they are real. This implies some time planning and also may imply other acts of this scale soon to follow.

A few Americans have been confirmed dead, a father and his 13 year old daughter who were members of an American spiritual group imitating Indian ways, the Synchronicity Community. Its run by a man called Master Charles, who was a disciple of Swami Muktananda, and lives quite comfortably off of the money of his followers in Virginia. This was their first time in India, staying at a first class hotel for spiritual reasons.