Terrorists will be flushed out in matter of hours, says Army officer

Mumbai, Nov.28 : A senior Indian Army officer said on Friday that the operation to flush out all terrorists from two hotels and Nariman House would be completed in a matter of hours.

"I think it is a matter of hours, we will be able to wrap up things. The NSG commandos have also suffered causalities. I share the grief of the families of the Army men and Mumbaikars and offer condolences. Some of our foreign guests have also lost their lives. Their sacrifice will not go in vain," said Lt.General Noble Thamburaj, the General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Pune headquartered Southern Army Command.

"The operation has to be deliberate and strong.But we have asked the commandos not to rush things at the last stage of operation and cause casualties.

Many lives are at stake. The new building of the Taj has been flushed out and handed over to the police. We have been able to establish contact with at least one terrorist," he added.

"We have moved slowly and cautiously. Some hostages may still be inside the Taj hotel," he said.

The ongoing operation in Mumbai to bring an end to the hostage crisis and terror attack was in its final stage at around 12.00 in the afternoon after being on for the past 37 hours.So far, most of the hostages have been evacuated from the Taj Hotel, while 93 have been moved out of the Trident-Oberoi Hotel.

Separate wings of military, marine commandos, Rapid Action Force (RAF), police are being led the National Security Guard (NSG) commandos in the operation.

People coming out of the Trident-Oberoi Hotel looked traumatized. Most of them were foreigners, many of them Germans. These people have been taken away from the venue in a bus and private cars.

It is believed that at least three to four terrorists could still be inside the hotel. Over 100 people are still inside this particular hotel. The evacuated people have been advised not to entertain any question from the media.

ANI