India Clears Last Mumbai Siege Site
Indian authorities have finally finished the siege of the Taj Mahal hotel, after a long assault all militants appear to have been killed. The death toll among the Indian casualties of the attack stands at 172 people killed and 239 wounded. This has been likely the most massive terrorist assault India has ever seen. British and American nationals residing in India’s financial capital were reportedly particularly targeted by the attackers. It is particularly important that India not only specified the terrorist group which it believes responsible for the attack, but already blamed the attack on Pakistan, including Pakistani government, security, and intelligence officials.
This unexpected event seems to put a tragic end on the years of improvement of Indo-Pakistani relations, as India throws increasingly harsh accusations against Pakistan, tightens security, and moves army divisions up to Pakistani border. Pakistan, in turn, attempts to deflect the accusations and redirect them onto the rebels operating in the tribally administered areas of the north-east of the country. It also, however, put its military on the Indian border on alert and promised to respond in force if any confrontation is to emerge.