On the night of 26th November 2008, terrorists stormed the city of Mumbai and held the city in the grips of terror for three days. The NSG commandos stepped in and fought the terrorists in three separate locations in Mumbai and eventually rescued the city. The upcoming ZEE5 Original series ’State Of Siege: 26/11’ explores in the ordeal in detail.

Watch the trailer for State Of Siege: 26/11 here.

Hafiz Saaed’s terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was responsible for these attacks. It is believed that Hafiz Saaed himself oversaw the training of the 10 terrorists and even waved goodbye to them as they set sail for Mumbai. The terrorists were trained in four aspects: Psychological training, Basic Combat, Advanced training, and Commando training.

Zakir Rehman Lakhvi, who played a vital role in planning and overseeing the entire attack, offered Kasab’s family 1.5 lakhs rupees for him to participate in the terror attack. Sajid Mir, another co-conspirator in the 2008 attacks, is now on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and is also believed to be in Pakistan.

Kasab and the rest of the terrorists were trained in fishing and taught how to read maps, use a compass and GPS. Kasab felt he was getting trained to become a mariner and could get an honest day job. During the attack, the terrorists had carried fake ID’s which showed that they were Indian students from Hyderabad. This was a part of the plot to confuse Indians as to who the perpetrators of the attack were.

The 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26/11 were: Ajmal Amir, Abu Ismail Dera, Hafiz Arshad, Babar Imran, Javed, Shoaib, Nazir Ahmed, Nasir, Abdul Rahman, Fahadullah, and Ajmal Kasab, the only one who was captured alive. He revealed that the same group had made two failed attempts to attack Mumbai by sea and the first time they almost drowned after hitting some rocks. The 2008 Mumbai terror strikes that took place on 26/11 were originally planned for September 27 the same year.

The 26/11 attacks by the LeT were a copy of the Landmarks Plot made by the Al-Qaeda in 1993. Like the 26/11 attacks, the terrorists had planned to attack landmarks across the Manhattan area in New York. However, this plan failed because one of the people involved in the attack warned the US Federal Authorities and thwarted the plan.

The terrorists were trained to survive for 60 hours without any food and still carry guns and ammunition without any trouble. The attacks that started with CST station ended almost 3 days later at the Taj Hotel. When Kasab was brought to Arthur Road Jail in 2008, the Public Works Department (PWD) built the egg-shaped solitary confinement cell with a reinforced steel wall and a 20-ft-long bomb-and-bullet-proof tunnel on the jail premises. The construction of this cell itself cost 8 crores.

Chabad House which housed a prominent Jewish community in Mumbai was a prime target for the terrorists. This residential building being under attack by the terrorists came as a shock to everyone. During the rescue operation, NSG commandos were dropped in the wrong building because the pilot of the chopper carrying the commandos wrongly identified the Chabad House.

David Headley provided the LeT maps and in-depth details about the layouts of all the locations planned for the attack. During a raid on Lashkar camps in Karachi and Thatta, diaries, training manuals, maps of India and operational instructions related to the attacks were seized. Pakistan itself admitted that at least part of the attack planning happened in their country. Along with American citizen David Headley, a Canadian citizen, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was also put on trail for the attacks.

Kasab was the only captured terrorist and was in jail for almost four years. In captivity, he learnt Marathi and would talk to the Indian officials in that language. Each Kasab hearing costed taxpayers Rs 1 lakh! We spent 43 crores for special security at Arthur Road jail, expenses on judicial officers, special public prosecutors, special security for judges and lawyers, and another 1 crore for special vehicles and infrastructure around the jail, as well as 50 lakhs for apex court expenses.

Lakhvi was the mastermind who planned the attacks and co-ordinated with the terrorists by watching Indian news footage. This attack ended in the deaths of 174 people including civilians, security forces, and militants. Lakhvi was arrested in Pakistan for his association with the 2008 attacks but he enjoyed a luxurious time in jail in Pakistan before being released on bail. His wife was allowed to live with him in jail and people were able to visit him without seeking any prior permission.

Watch a detailed and engaging breakdown of the 26/11 attacks in State of Seige: 26/11 based on the book Operation Tornado by reputed defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan.