Mumbai: Quiet in the wake of the attacks, but hostages still being held as the Indian National Security Guard move in… what the world is saying:

One terrorist left in Taj hotel, says NSG. The NSG, which is engaged in a gun battle with the terrorists at Taj hotel here, said just one terrorist was still hiding and hoped to wrap up the flush-out operation at the Trident-Oberoi hotel and Nariman House very soon.”There is one terrorist in the Taj (hotel). He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly,” Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt said. He said the injured terrorist has not yet been captured but “we will be able to do so soon”. — Times of India

Indian forces locked in Mumbai stand-off. Hostages are being held at a landmark hotel in India’s financial capital after more than 100 people were killed amid gunfire and grenade attacks in Mumbai. Todd Baer says a little-known group called the Deccan Mujahideen is claiming responsibility. Video footage. — Al Jazeera

Two blasts heard at Nariman House, situation still fluid. According to latest reports two blasts have been heard at Nariman House. Earlier, seven terrorists were killed in commando operation at the Taj hotel. There are reports of fresh firing from inside the hotel. Army sources have told NDTV that operation at Taj can go on till morning. However, the Director General NSG JK Dutt said that one injured terrorist was still inside the hotel. The NSG chief said that it’s a matter of time before the combing operation is over. — NDTV

Final assult in Mumbai seige. NSG Director General says commandos clearing the hotel floor by floor. Video footage. — IBN

Mumbai attacks on Flickr photostream:

Massacre in Mumbai: 24 hours of carnage leave 120 dead. Indian soldiers stormed the last hideouts of Islamist militants in Mumbai today after a day of bloody confrontation that left 120 dead, hundreds injured and the country’s prime minister pointing the finger of blame at “external forces”. Over 24 hours, gangs of heavily armed young men had attacked two luxury hotels, a hospital, a popular restaurant and a railway station. Trapped by gunfire and explosions were bankers, businessmen and women, actors and members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group — many of whom were freed by security forces. By the early hours of the morning the mayhem had left the city’s skyline smoking, and blood on the streets of India’s financial capital. Mumbai, a bustling metropolis of 19 million people, had been reduced to a ghost town — with many international firms cancelling travel and closing down offices. — The Guardian

The Guardian have an interactive map of the terrorist attacks:

Markets may suffer after Mumbai attacks, but India will retain allure. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the financial capital, have dealt a fresh blow to India as an investment destination, but analysts say the country’s size and growth will retain their allure over the long term. India’s shine had already been dulled as foreign portfolio investors fled from risk around the globe, helping send the stock market down 55 percent this year. Tight liquidity, a battered currency and a slowing of Indian economic growth add to the gloom. The attacks were a reminder that risk in India extended beyond the red tape and crumbling infrastructure that investors accepted as a cost of doing business in the country. — International Herald Tribune

Respiro, ergo sum. The rational corner of my mind tells me that there is no security measure, no multi-crore security ‘plan’ that can permanently inoculate me and my fellow Mumbaikars against what is becoming a gory ritual. But who, listening to a colleague call in with details of grenade explosions and the rattle of machine guns and mounting body counts or watching images of the Taj Mahal Hotel — more, to me and my fellow Mumbaikars than a “hotel”; its facade is as much a part of my Mumbai-ness as is vada pav and cutting chai and the boon-granting Ganesha of Siddhivinayak — can stay rational? — Smoke Signals

Surviving Mumbai — Information for emergencies in the Bombay area. This blog is constantly being updated with the names of the dead, emergency phone numbers and advice. — Mumbai Help