15 years of 26/11: Remembering the Mumbai attack horrors that shook India

For the past 15 years, India's financial hub, Mumbai, has borne the tragic weight of the horrifying and destructive terrorist assaults that unfolded on November 26, 2008. These attacks were perpetrated by terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, an organisation based in Pakistan.

Commonly referred to as 26/11, these coordinated assaults by a group of 10 terrorists did mayhem on the streets of Mumbai, killing at least 160 people over the course of four days. The Pakistani terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons and munitions entered Mumbai on the night and executed assaults on pre-planned targets. 

Recalling horror that India went through

The targets were carefully chosen after being surveyed for maximum impact, viz., the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish centre at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe, since these places were frequented by Europeans, Indians and Jews.

In the encounter with security forces, nine LeT terrorists were killed while Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist from the attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, was arrested. 

Three Railway officials were also killed in the attack at Mumbai CST where Qasab and Ismail Khan had opened indiscriminate firing.

Qasab was sentenced to the death penalty in May 2010, and two years later on November 21, 2012, he was hanged in a maximum security prison in Pune city. The scars left by the tragic event continue to linger in the collective memory of those who witnessed it, and the lessons learned remain crucial for global security.

Many security personnel, including two NSG commandos, sacrificed their lives in the Mumbai attack, including Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan.

Among several lesser-known facts is that the then National Security Guard (NSG) chief Jyoti Krishan Dutt, leading the elite commando force during the operation, continued his duty even after knowing that one of his relatives was killed by the terrorists in the attack.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the devastating terror attacks on Mumbai.