Using the alias wassi mir oversaw the assault on the

Using the alias Wassi, Mir oversaw the assault on
the Taj hotel, the prime target, where 32 people
died. The phone handlers in Pakistan made the at-
tack interactive, relaying reports about television
coverage to the gunmen and even searching the In-
ternet for the name of a banker they had taken
hostage. After killing 10 people at the historic Leo-
pold Cafe, a second assault team joined the two
gunmen at the Taj.
At the nearby Oberoi Hotel, two attackers hunt-
ed Americans and Britons, demanding passports at
4. Fedayeen —Arabic for guerrilla fighters and means “one who sacrifices himself.”
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Case Studies and Lessons Learned 273
gunpoint, according to U.S. investigators. The gun-
men killed 33 people at the Oberoi, and then took
refuge in Room 1856. Their handlers instructed
them to divide ammunition magazines and keep
their weapons on burst mode to conserve bullets.
After one gunman was killed, Mir encouraged the
other to go out in a blaze of glory.
“For your mission to end successfully, you must
be killed,” Mir said in one of the intercepted calls.
“God is waiting for you in heaven. . . . Fight brave-
Figure 10.12. Mumbai Targets.
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274 Tactical Counterterrorism
ly, and put your phone in your pocket, but leave it
on. We like to know what’s going on.”
Another team rampaged through Mumbai’s cen-
tral train station, killing 58 and wounding 104. Their
tactics reflected Lashkar’s expert training. They
avoided running, which is tiring and churns up
emotions. They stayed within arm’s length in a
“buddy pair” combat formation, a Lashkar signa-
Figure 10.13. The arrows indicate the axis of advance of the terrorists to their targets.
1.Two (2) terrorists attack the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Station) Rail Station.
2.Four (4) terrorists attack the Leopold Caf / Taj Mahal Hotel.
3.Two (2) terrorists attack the Oberoi Trident Hotel.
4.Two (2) terrorists attack the Narimann (Chabad)?House.
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Case Studies and Lessons Learned 275
ture technique that enabled them to support one
another psychologically, sustain fire, and exchange
ammunition.
Unlike the others, however, the duo at the train
station failed to call the command post. Instead of
barricading themselves with hostages as ordered,
they left the station. It was a dramatic error that un-
derscored the crucial role of the handlers’ round-
the-clock phone instructions, their ingenious meth-
od of compensating for the limitations of their fight-
ers.
In the running gunfights that followed, the chief
of Mumbai’s anti-terrorist unit was killed along with
an attacker. The other gunman, a diminutive 21-
year-old with a fourth-grade education, was cap-
tured. The confession of the lone surviving attacker
proved vital to the investigation.