The 2008 Mumbai Attack By Lashkar e Taiba

 DATE AND TIME PUBLISHED : 18/5/2021 (TUESDAY), 6.11AM

WRITTEN BY : KAM2284D

 1. NOR NADIA BINTI AZMAN (2020899318)

2. INTAN NAZIFA BINTI JONID (2020899312)

3. SITI NAJIHA BINTI SHAIFUL NIZAM (2020862062)

4. MUHAMMAD ILHAM BIN MOHD AZHARI  (2020608314)

5. AZREEN SHAHIRA BINTI MD ASRI (2020483726)

TOPIC : The 2008 Mumbai Attack By Lashkar e Taiba

1. INTRODUCTION

Lashkar-e-Taiba comes from an Urdu language which means army of the pure. Laskar -e-Taiba is a group of Islamist militant and was established in the 1980’s. The Islamist militant group acted as a wing of militant for Markaz ud Dawa wal Irshad which is an organization of Islamist. This organization of Islamist was influenced by Wahhabi (Sisson, 2015). Wahhabi refers to a follower of the movement called Islamic reform which was found by Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab in the central Arabia somewhere in 18^th century (Zeidan, 2020).

Lashkar e-Taiba is knows as one of the most active and largest organization of terrorist. The terrorist organization’s founders are Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal and Abdullah Azzam. The terrorist group is based in Pakistan. The group was initially active in the state of India which are Kashmir and Jammu. However, in the first 10 years of the 21^st century, the terrorist group had moved a long way into India. India and Pakistan claimed Jammu and Kashmir to be theirs at the same time and this dispute had risen to many groups which are armed within Kashmir and Jammu (Sisson, 2015).  India is a large country of Hindu and Pakistan is a large country of Muslim. The terrorist group adheres to a strict principles of Islam interpretation and the aim is to establish caliphate of Islam in South Asia and establish rule of Islam throughout India. The attacks conducted by the terrorist group, Lashkar -e-Taiba are mostly aimed at civilian (Sisson, 2015).

According to a study conducted by Combating Terrorism Centre, it has been found that most of the Lashkar-e-Taiba recruits are at a young age which are males of Pakistani. The recruitment took place in districts such as Faisalabad, Gujranwala as well as Lahore where the terrorist group spreads messages in madrassas and mosque. In addition, new recruitment is also by family and friendship ties between the Laskar-e-Taiba member. A majority of the members from the terrorist group were Afghanistan or Pakistani. It was also believed that the group form allies with Afghanistan’s Taliban government and with Islamist extremist which was the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden (Sisson, 2015).

In 26/11/2008, 10 members of terrorist landed in Mumbai using boats and began moving to a popular destination of tourist and begun to shoot at people. The hostages, military and Indian police were held for a total of three days. A total of 170 people died during the attacks and this includes 9 members of terrorist from Lashkar-e-Taiba. Apparently, one of the member of the terrorist was captured. The terrorist member came clean and claimed that he was one of the member of Lashkar-e-Taiba which had undergo trainings in Pakistan and him as well as other members came to Mumbai by using a boat all the way from Pakistan.

 

2.      THE 2008 MUMBAI ATTACK BY LASHKAR E-TAIBA (WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHO)

The 2008 Mumbai attacks refer to terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India by a group of Pakistani terrorists known as Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT). These attacks often referred as Twenty-Six Eleven as the attacks took place from 26 November until 29 November 2008, witnessed 10 terrorists came to Mumbai via sea route from Pakistan and carried out a coordinated sequence of shooting and bombing operations around the city. The four-day onslaught claimed the lives of over 166 persons, including foreign nationals. (Times Now Digital, 2020)

The terrorist organisation behind the assaults is known as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is one of the world's largest and most active terrorist organisations, based in Pakistan. It was created in Afghanistan in 1987 by Hafiz Saeed, Abdullah Azzam, and Zafar Iqbal, with Osama Bin Laden's finance. The organisation conducts various training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with its headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province. Lashkar-e-Taiba has been accused of assaulting military and civilian targets in India, including the assaults on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and the Mumbai attacks in 2008. The group's claimed goal is to establish an Islamic state in South Asia and "liberate" Muslims in Indian Kashmir. India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, and Australia have all designated the group as a terrorist organisation. (n.d., 2021)

The assaults had several goals, demonstrating Lashkar's sophisticated strategic culture and difficult status as a suspected al-Qaeda offshoot and Pakistan Army stooge. The primary goal was probably undoubtedly to raise tensions between India and Pakistan, with war between the two nations being a potential outcome. Although war was the best-case scenario for Lashkar, the group most likely expected to stall the Indian-Pakistani peace process. Peace between the two nations would not only be contrary to Lashkar's philosophy, but it would also render the organisation useless in the eyes of the government. (Tankel, 2009)

The group hijacked the MV Kuber, an Indian fishing trawler, on November 23, 2008. Pretending to be adrift, they boarded the trawler and murdered Amarchand Solanki, the captain of the MV Kuber, as soon as the trawler approached Mumbai. On November 26, the gang launched their inflatable boat and arrived in Mumbai about 8.15 p.m. Armed with grenades, AK-47 rifles, GPS set, eatables and mobile sets, the group then launched the first attack at the crowded Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Ajmal Kasab, who was eventually arrested and executed as the attack's only survivor, and another terrorist, Ismail Khan, murdered roughly 58 people and injured over 100 others at CST. (Times Now Digital, 2020)

Their attempt to attack Cama Hospital was foiled by the hospital's staff's attentiveness. They did, however, kill six police officers in an ambush after leaving the hospital, including Hemant Karkare of the city's Anti-Terrorism Squad. Kasab and Ismail boarded the same car that the three police officers were riding in and continued their murder spree. After the cops shot on it and flattened its tyres, they abandoned the car, MH 01 BA 569, a Toyota Qualis. (Times Now Digital, 2020)

The second location of the attack was the Nariman House commercial and residential complex, where terrorists killed Rabbi Gavriel and his wife, Rivka, as well as six others, including five Israeli nationals. Moshe, the Rabbi couple's two-year-old child, was saved by his nanny and so escaped the attack. 'Baby Moshe' thus became a symbol for the victims of brutal terrorism. (Outlook Web Bureau, 2019)

The Leopold Cafe was the next target on November 26th, followed by the Taj Mahal Hotel and Tower. Two terrorists attacked the famed café before entering the historic Taj hotel at around the same time as two other terrorists whom entered the foyer of the luxury 800-suite hotel, shooting gunfire at the gatekeepers and reception staff. After a three-day siege at the hotel, the terrorists kept numerous international guests as hostages, killing more than 30 people. After a procedural delay, the National Security Guards (NSG) took over the operation about 6 a.m. on November 27. On November 28, the siege came to an end, with 143 captives liberated alive and 24 dead discovered. NSG commandos assassinated both terrorists (Times Now Digital, 2020). Over 160 people had been murdered and hundreds had been injured by the time National Security Guards (NSG) commandos gunned down the remaining terrorists holed up in south Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel. (Outlook Web Bureau, 2019)

The magnificent Taj Mahal hotel's majestic dome, shrouded in smoke, became the most memorable picture of the horrific tragedy. For over 60 hours, four heavily armed terrorists took the landmark skyscraper and its people hostage. The security forces killed Abdul Rehman Bada, Abu Ali, Shoib, and Umer. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a member of the National Security Guard's elite Special Action Group, was killed in the operation. The siege came to an end on November 29th morning (Times Now Digital, 2020). Nine terrorists were murdered in the assaults, while the lone survivor, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was apprehended and executed at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune in 2012. The 26/11 assaults were said to have been planned by the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), whose mastermind was Hafiz Saeed. (Outlook Web Bureau, 2019)

3. REVIEW

3 .1 Challenges

3.1.1  Weak Security System Of The Indian Government

          In the mumbai attack crisis in 2008 has proved that the indian government has a weak security system. This is evidenced through the eight attacks that have taken place in South Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai Chabad House, The Oberoi Trident, The Taj Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, The Nariman House, Metro Cinema, and in the hallway behind the Times building of India and St Xavier's College. There were also explosions in Mazagaon, in the Mumbai port area, and by taxi in Vile Parle. the question is how terrorists from pakistan can escape carrying out a massive attack that has triggered hundreds of people involved. This was the main reason why the attack in mumbai went smoothly. If at that time the Indian government had the resources of a tight security system, it is likely that this attack could have been better handled and may not have happened. This has taught all countries that a well -established security system is capable of fighting crime from continuing to occur. The result of this weak security system has raised the spirits of attackers from the Lashkar e-taiba group to carry out attacks even though their numbers are small.

3.1.2. Lack Of Security Equipment As Well As Efficient Police And Security Forces

In an effort to repel attacks carried out by 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organization from Pakistan there have been difficulties for the police force. This is because, the police and army forces at that time were not efficient and experienced people. the weapons used were not enough to help the police force control the actions of the criminals. This can be proved what happened when this protracted case started on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. The incident has left At least 174 people dead, including 9 attackers, and more than 300 injured. It has thus been proven that the incident which lasted for four days had tarnished the reputation of the indian police at that time which could not control and suppress the violence of the members of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

3.1.3 There Was No Effort Of Pakistani Government Involvement To Settle The Issue.

Although the case has received wide coverage and strong criticism from the Pakistani government, but still no effort is given to the Indian government such as sending troops to assist in the case so that it does not drag on. But this is not possible due to the lack of diplomatic relations or the indifference of the Pakistani government. as a result of the lack of aid has affected many innocent parties killed and injured as well as increased the cost of rehabilitating the city of mumbai area. This can be evidenced when In 2018, former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif suggested that the Pakistani government play a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Thus the speculation regarding the indifference towards the indian government by the pakistani government is getting stronger.

 3.2 Significance

 In regards to this topic, it is crucial to understand the significance of Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Mumbai attack. Among the interests in the attack is likely Lashkar-e-Taiba which is a Pakistani militant group that for more than 2 decades has waged war against Indian security forces and residents in the Kashmir region captured by Pakistani Indians. therefore it may be that the consequences of the struggle have caused it to be the motive for the attack. moreover, the unhelpful pakistani government further reinforced this objective.

In addition, among the objectives targeted which is purpose to commit murder. Lashkar e-Taiba members have targeted attacks with the aim of killing foreigners as well as Indians. the motive for committing this murder became stronger when an attack on a railway station had taken place by killing an Indian. they also headed to Cama & Albless hospital to do the shooting before exiting with the police car attacked by them.

Finally, the other significance of this incident is that Lashkar e-Taiba demanded that India release all mujahideen prisoners or Muslim prisoners. as is well known Lashkar e-Taiba who is known as an Islamic fighter may have revolted against the issue of detention. even so, the interests sought by these criminal members remain unclear to this day as they are not exactly demanding something as compensation or to do black history against indians with the murders that took place.

3.3 Factors On Why 2008 Mumbai Attack Happened

The 2008 Mumbai Attack happened likely because of the group agenda which aim for global jihad. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group believes that military jihad is a must as it is the religious obligation of all Muslim. The reason on why they choose to attack Mumbai is because they believe that the group states that all of India and other countries as well are all were once ruled by Muslims and were Muslim lands, therefore it is their duty to get it back from non-muslims. Since the India is the closest country that exist near to Pakistan, it makes them to be their target in launching the attack. The fact that, this group is also inspired by what has happened in 1992the demolition of the Babri Mosque by Hindu nationalist which explained on why they target those country which have the majority of Indian community. Beside that, LeT believes that the duty of all muslim is doing jihad and must fulfill eight objectives. The objectives are establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world, forcing disbelievers to pay jizya (a tax on non-Muslims),fightfor the weak and feeble against oppressors, must revenge for killed Muslims, punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties, defending all Muslim states, and recapturing occupied Muslim territory. Because of this objectives, the attack on Mumbai has occur as they has set their ambition to cause mayhem in India.

 

3.4 The Impact Of The Attack

To prevent the same incident from happening all over again, The Maharashtra Government has planned to create anti-terror force called “Force One” and also planned to buy more speed boats and helicopters in order to upgrade all the current weapons that the Mumbai police have. This is because the attack from Let has make them helpless since the attack is out of the police force control and can be considered as war like. Apart from that, the legal framework also has been strengthened in fighting against terrorism which lead to the establishment of Federal Anti-Terrorist Intelligence and Investigation Agency, the formation of Federal National Investigation Agency, and Anti-Terror Laws with UAPA 2008. As a result, the security has been tightened especially in the hot spots. Between India and Pakistan, the Mumbai crisis also has take part in the long legacy of violent incidents short of full-scale of war between them. This is because, the attack that happen in Mumbai in 2008 has remained as unsolved grievances of India towards Pakistan.

 

3.5  Recommendation

         3.5.1 Tightly secure citizen personal privacy

Tightly secure citizen personal privacy where Lashkar-e-Taiba they are having attack by using cell phones and GPS technology to terrorize the enemies an entire city and grab global attention for three days [Riedel, 2012]. Mumbai needs to monitor and control the personal privacy of its citizens to reduce the risk of a terrorist incident. The country is the one has only right to the personal information of its citizen. No other country can involve or interrupt in personal privacy information. The personal privacy of a citizen is very important to be taken care of, so that someone’s information is not easily hacked by terrorists. The government needs to have a strong database organization system in storing their citizen data or information more securely, systematically, efficiently and effectively. This is because, as everyone knows terrorists at this point are already proficient in the latest technology, where they can identify a person’s identity using a particular system. We need to take a lesson from the 2008 Mumbai Attacks, which were attacked by terrorists using mobile phones and GPS technology [Riedel, 2012].

3.5.2      Enforce the customs immigration system more strictly

The enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws has received a significant amount of attention [Algolia, 2009]. The mission of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is to protect the country from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety [Security, 2020]. Customs and immigration need to work together by controlling and identifying the movements of all foreigners and tourists more sensitively and decisively, so that there is no problem of illegal immigrants or terrorist problems that can disrupt the peace of the country. Customs and immigration need to work with full of integrity, where they need to perform their responsibilities with full of trust, full of responsible, diligently and honest by not accept bribes for self-interest. Corruption is one of the factors that can have a huge negative impact on oneself and the country. Immigration and customs workers who accept bribes during working hours will be subject to appropriate punishment. Acceptance of bribes during working hours, is one of the big offenses as it can tarnish the image of the organization and governments in the country. This shows bad behaviour to all citizens, citizens do not place high respect on government employees, because they themselves work under the government which controls the tourist movement system to deter various threats but they themselves invite bad risks by accepting bribes. They should carry out their responsibilities with full of trust (integrity) to keep the peace of the country itself, so that our country does not have the problem of illegal immigrants and the problem of terrorists by accepting bribes by the enemy.

4.  CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the 2008 Mumbai Attacks that took place had a bad impact as there were a large number of deaths due to the war. Lashkar-e-Taiba is an Islamic militant jihad organization in Pakistan. It was founded in 1987 by Hafiz Saeed, Abdullah Azzam and Zafar Iqbal with funds from Osama bin Laden [Portal, 2009]. The Lashkar-e-Taiba organization has the same goals and objectives as Al-Qaeda because they are targeting non-Muslim terrorists in a more brutal and violent way. In the context of 2008 Mumbai Attacks, from a Punjabi-based Pakistani terrorist group targeting India exclusively to members of the global Islamic jihad targeting al Qaeda enemies such as the Western Crusaders, Israeli Zionists, and Hindu Indians. The two countries have conflicts with each other but until when? Therefore, the governments of Mumbai and Pakistan need to be peaceful and united. If the governments of Mumbai and Pakistan do not act in this way, it most likely that more lives will be lost as a result of the conflict that took place in the future.

 5. REFERENCES

Project, C. E. (n.d.). Lashkar-e-Taiba. Retrieved from Counter Extremism Project: https://www.counterextremism.com/taxonomy_term/1018/printable/pdf

Sisson, M. (4 February, 2015). Laskar-e-Taiba. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lashkar-e-Taiba/additional-info#history

Zeidan, A. (9 June, 2020). Wahhābī. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wahhabi/additional-info#history

Tankel, S. (2009). Lashkar-e-Taiba: From 9/11 to Mumbai. Developments in Radicalisation and Political Violence. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272681693_Lashkar-e-Taiba_From_911_to_Mumbai

Outlook Web Bureau. (2019, November 26). Mumbai Terror Attacks: What Happened On 26/11? Outlook India. https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-mumbai-terror-attacks-what-happened-on-2611/343043

Times Now Digital (2020, November 26). 26/11 anniversary: What happened on the night of November 26, 2008. https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/2611-anniversary-what-happened-on-the-night-of-november-26/686770

n.d. (2021, April 16). Lashkar e Taiba. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/lashkar-e-taiba

Ramesh, R. (2009, February 19). Mumbai attackers had hit list of 320 world targets. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/19/mumbai-attacks-list-targets

Algolia. (2009, March 11). Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement. Retrieved from www.everycrsreport.com: https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL32270.html

Portal, S. A. (2009, January 21). Lashkar-e-Taiba. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashkar-e-Taiba#Objectives

Riedel, B. (2012, July 1). Mumbai Terror Attack Group Lashkar e Tayyiba Now More Dangerous Than Al Qaeda. Retrieved from www.brookings.edu: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/mumbai-terror-attack-group-lashkar-e-tayyiba-now-more-dangerous-than-al-qaeda/

Security, H. (2020, November 4). Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Retrieved from www.dhs.gov: https://www.dhs.gov/topic/immigration-and-customs-enforcement#:~:text=The%20mission%20of%20U.S.%20Immigration,national%20security%20and%20public%20safety.

Nurhasanah, (24 March, 2014). Case  study : Dampak Peristiwa Bom Mumbai 2008 Terhadap Penyelesaian Konflik Kashmir Antara India dan Pakistan Period 2008 – 2012. Retrived from: https://repository.uinjkt.ac.id/dspace/bitstream/123456789/38934/3/Nurhasanah-FISIP

Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, ( January 2011). Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008. Retrieved from article: https://www.britannica.com/event/Mumbai-terrorist-attacks-of-2008

 6.     APPENDICES

Figure 1 : Lashkar-e-Taiba logo

 

Figure 2 : Mumbai Attacks