Who is behind these attacks? A knowledgeable friend sends in this chilling assessment of the targets.
Very difficult to work out who is behind this. From the two or three photos of the gun men: They look clearly South Asian. One of them with a boyish face, pudding bowl haircut, black t-shirt with "Versa" he could be on this way to school or college. Except he is carrying an automatic weapon. An organization called the Deccan Mujahideen claims responsibility. No one has heard of them. In the multiple attacks in Ahmedabad and Delhi earlier this year, a group called the Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility as revenge for the anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002. But these Bombay attacks are different. The targets are not obviously Hindu at all--they are the main tourist locations in the city, and they were after Americans, British and Israelis. They went after a building called Nariman House, where several Israeli and Jewish families live. It was international, not domestic considerations which seems to be have been driving them. Also they seem very well-resourced. Apparently they came into the city on boats, used hand grenades and automatic weapons. It suggest some sort of Al Qaeda connection. But the Indians have been pretty good at tracking them. So, it is puzzling.--Franklin Foer