Mumbai Attack

The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's financial capital and its largest city. The attacks, which drew widespread condemnation across the world, began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308.

Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College. There was also an explosion at the Mazagaon docks, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle. By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Mahal Palace had been secured by Mumbai Police and security forces. An action by India's National Security Guards (NSG) on 29 November resulted in the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj Mahal Palace, ending all fighting in the attacks.

FBI Director Robert Mueller pointed Monday to recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India, and Somalia to highlight the FBI's concern that small groups or individuals could carry out such attacks on U.S. soil.

FBI Director Robert Mueller says he worries the Mumbai attack could be replicated in the United States.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Mueller worried that the dramatic terror attack on hotels and other facilities in Mumbai potentially could be replicated in the United States.

"This type of attack reminds us that terrorists with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximize their impact. And it again raises the question of whether a similar attack could happen in Seattle or San Diego, Miami, or Manhattan," Mueller said.

He said he is increasingly concerned with "pockets of people around the world that identify with al Qaeda and its ideology" but who have little or no actual contact with al Qaeda.