Terrorists in Mumbai wanted an 'Indian 9/11'

FINAL FIREFIGHT: A portion of Taj Mahal Hotel is set ablaze during a gunbattle between commandos and terrorists.

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Mumbai: The gunmen who attacked Mumbai killing at least 160 people wanted to go down in history for an Indian 9/11, and were also inspired by the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, media reports said.

They had planned every detail, knew the layout of the Taj Mahal and Trident (Oberoi) Hotels they targetted, had commando-style training and even had snacks such as dry fruit stuffed in their backpacks.

The capture of one of the terrorists, a clean-shaven, fluent English-speaking 21-year-old from Pakistan according to reports, has highlighted the ambitious plans of the group.

"The entire idea was to replicate the JW Marriott at the Taj," an English news channel reported, quoting a defence official present at the interrogation of Azam Amir Kasav.

He was referring to one of Pakistan's worst bomb attacks, when a lorry packed with explosives all but destroyed the hotel in Islamabad and killed at least 55 people in September.

"They wanted to reduce the symbols of economic strength to rubble, the Taj and Trident, so they cannot be rebuilt," the channel said.

"They talked of a 9/11 to bring down the buildings."

Their methods were different but the impact was huge. During the first hours of the attacks at landmarks across Mumbai police seemed powerless.

Top officials, including the head of the city's anti-terrorist force, were gunned down.

The use of at least 10 heavily armed and well-trained terrorists bore the hallmarks of Pakistan-based terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Kasav, the terrorist reported to have been captured, confessed to being a member of Lashkar-e-Toiba, newspapers said, but the group has denied any role in the Mumbai attacks.