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American Morning

Mumbai Under Siege: Terrorist Holding Hostages at Jewish Center and Taj Hotel

Aired November 28, 2008 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We've just about hit the top of the hour. Let's get back to our breaking news and the dangerous situation unfolding as we speak at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. For the past two hours, we have heard explosions followed by gunfire as heavily armed commandos make a daring assault to capture the terrorists who held that city captive for the past 44 hours now. As we told you the death toll stands at 146. Eight foreigners among the dead.
Also happening right now, commandos trying to take back a Jewish center where a New York rabbi and his wife were taken hostage. Our Nic Robertson is monitoring events there but listen now to the explosions we've been hearing this morning from the Taj Hotel.

Some of them have been quite intense, in fact, coming from that window at one point this morning. There was explosion after explosion -

It's difficult to know what exactly is going on inside that hotel. Let's go live to the ground there now and our Sara Sidner.

Sara, what's happening now?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been pretty quiet for the past 30 to 45 minutes. No explosions. No gunfire. And no real action that we're seeing inside of the hotel. Though I can tell you that around the perimeter, we're still seeing what appear to be commandos. They've got their rifles at the ready and they're sort of crouching and waiting to see what happens inside of the Taj. But certainly, not at all a scene that is done. Still an active scene.

This has been sort of the scenario. Sometimes for an hour or two, there will be complete silence. It will be quiet. There will be simply journalists out here explaining what is going on. And then, all of a sudden, all heck breaks loose and you hear, like you said, explosion after explosion, and then a few shots ring out. And then sometimes, you hear automatic gunfire going off, eight or nine rounds going off at a time.

And so you're not quite sure what the situation is -- if it has changed at any point when it gets quiet. But we certainly can't assume that because every time we go down for a couple of hours and it seems that things have gotten quiet, it revs back up again. It's been doing that for the past 44 hours now.

Carol? COSTELLO: Just unbelievable. Now earlier, you're telling us that some people were taken from the hotel. Tell us again. Have you seen anymore of that?

SIDNER: We have not seen anymore of that. And we didn't even see this family of four from Chicago come out of the hotel ourselves. We were in contact. The family's been in contact with some of the folks at CNN and they've been in contact with me, letting me know what is going on inside.

We talked a bit to the family members who were inside overnight and then heard from their fellow family members in Chicago, who told us, OK, they gave us a timeline five hours ago. They got to texting. There's a lot of banging going on. We're being told that we're going to be rescued soon.

And then three hours down the line, they were again told to stay put, that they were going to be rescued. And then two hours and then an hour ago, they were told, OK, we're coming in; we're going to get you. And they did. And they were able to get them out.

This family of four -- Chicagoans, who have been terrified, but very, very strong inside. They were on the third floor. They are now gone from there. And we understand that they are in a safe place. Certainly, a terrible ordeal. We're hoping to maybe speak to them at some point in time, but still certainly here in India.

This has been a harrowing ordeal for anyone, any single person who is inside of any of these places that the terrorists came in with their guns and their grenades and wreaked havoc inside of these beautiful monuments, really. This Taj is a monument and the Oberoi is a five-star hotel, a very nice hotel.

And then you have the Jewish center. You have a situation with a rabbi and his wife. At some point, we were told by a witness that they were unconscious when they were taken out of that area.

So, this has just been a terrorist attack that doesn't seem to want to end. It doesn't seem to have an end. And there are a lot of people standing around, just really worried about the situation now. It's been tough on everyone.

COSTELLO: Stick with me because we're starting to hear from people at the Taj Mahal Hotel during this intense standoff. One Australian guest describes his terrifying experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID JACOBS, TAJ GUEST: I was in my room. I heard a series of loud explosions. I thought it might have been construction to start with. And then started to think it wasn't. At the end, I had a look at the atrium. It was clear to me that it was a terrorist attack. I went back inside my room and barricaded the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's just unbelievable. Let's head back up to Sara for a second in Mumbai.

Sara, you were communicating with those people from Chicago. What were they doing for all of that -- oh, another explosion coming from the Taj. Are you all right, Sara?

SIDNER: Another explosion. And we were -- I am fine. We should mention that I'm going to move out of the way here and let my photographer to give you a look at the building. This is so typical of what's happened throughout this day, Carol. You know, we'll be talking just calmly and suddenly a huge bang that frightens everyone and makes everyone duck.

I will tell you this. We understand that at least one journalist, we haven't confirmed it, but we were right here in the area watching, at least -- it appears one journalist may have been wounded, possibly two, from shrapnel, is what we're hearing at this point. And so, we backed off the hotel.

You will notice, though, the journalists are right back in the same area where two people apparently got hurt a couple of hours ago. We were sitting right there ourselves and decided that it would be better off if we stay back and put on our flak jackets.

But still a very active scene. You know, it doesn't seem to want to end and now, we're getting, you know, dangerously close to being 48 hours of this. 48 hours of dealing with these horrific conditions for people who are wondering what is going to happen to them if they're still inside. We do not yet know if there are hostages still inside and if there are any more guests who are holed up in their rooms inside of that hotel.

But certainly, there appears or it seems to be that there is still -- police believe -- a terrorist that is still inside, at least one.

Carol and Joe?

COSTELLO: At least one. That's just unbelievable to me. Sara, we're going to get back to you. You stay safe until we do. Sara Sidner, live at Mumbai.

JOHNS: And right now, commandos say they are in control of the Oberoi and are conducting a sweep of the hotel's 333 rooms and suites, escorting guests out of the hotel. CNN's Phil O'Sullivan is live once again outside the hotel in Mumbai.

Phil, what can you tell us?

VOICE OF PHIL O'SULLIVAN, CNN PRODUCER: Well, it really does seem as though the situation is starting to wind down here, Joe. We're seeing busloads of guests coming out since late morning really. It's nightfall here outside the Oberoi. It's now about 25 to 7 in the evening. We're still hearing the occasional explosion in the hotel, but we've been assured by police that they're actually detonations of suspected objects. We've got a situation where -- police commissioners say that were two terrorists were killed inside the hotel. I specifically asked whether any escaped. He said definitely not. But the assumption at this point is that the events that happened here at the Oberoi Hotel is the responsibility of just two terrorists -- Joe.

JOHNS: Phil, OK. Just stay on the line with me for a minute. We just want to take our viewers over to the Harriman House. We have some pictures there of what appears to be a lot of activity. Not sure exactly what is going on there. As you know, there's been continuous siege there throughout the day, throughout the past two days. We're looking to try to get our correspondent Nic Robertson back on the line so we can talk to him about the developments there at the Harriman House.

Now, back to Phil. You're saying, from what you can tell, things have quieted down substantially. As we know, from the other hotel, the Taj, there have been lulls and then there's been a burst of activity and it's happened again and again and again and again. I guess my question for you is how long has it been since you had an explosion or shots fired or anything else that you can point to that suggests this siege may not be over?

O'SULLIVAN: That's a good question, Joe. I think I have to say that it's at least 12 hours. So, it really does -- I mean, it's a very different feeling here today compared to yesterday when there was continued outbreaks of shootings. There were explosions throughout the day. And then it sort of all culminated in the evening when the hotel was actually on fire. Quite a dramatic fire coming out of the rear of the building.

Today, there has been no shooting. There's been no explosion, except for the detonations of suspected objects that are happening in the last hour or so. Today feels very different. We've seen busloads of guests coming out of the hotel continually.

We do know that there's been some guests killed inside the hotel, but at this stage we still do not know exact numbers of how many guests. We do know there are certain bodies in the hotel, but likely to be a combination of hotel staff and guests.

JOHNS: Now let me ask you what our correspondent in London has been reporting. This is very tentative and it's -- as she described it, fairly close to speculation. Nonetheless, we're told that authorities there in London are looking fairly closely at this question. And it's question of whether some of the militants, perhaps a couple of them, might have been UK nationals, might have been Britons.

Have you heard anything about the nationalities of the individuals who were either killed or taken into custody as a result of these attacks?

O'SULLIVAN: No, nothing on that at this stage, Joe. Nothing on that at this stage

JOHNS: OK.

O'SULLIVAN: A lot of the -- a lot of the (INAUDIBLE) is very tight lipped.

JOHNS: Absolutely. OK. Now, hold on one more time. We'd like to go back over to the Harriman House and take a closer look at what's going on there. In the video, you can see a lot of flashes going off. This time not explosions.

But they appear to be media, photographers, taking pictures. A very large crowd that we can see gathered around. And no sound at this time as we try to get our correspondent Nic Robertson on the line to tell us -- it appears that there's been some development. The things you can look at the situation and say number one, there's the possibility that perhaps they have gotten another one of floors of the center there under control or perhaps there is some hope, at least, that it appears to be jubilation, you might think.

COSTELLO: I know. It seems to me there's jubilation, but you don't know for sure.

JOHNS: Some hope at least that the siege there at least for now appears to be over. You have to be very cautious in reporting this, because if you're just joining us, several times over the course of the last more than 40 hours, we've been told one or another of these locations, and in fact, had been pretty much secured, that it was over they said, only for some time later to hear more explosions -- more shots fired, more people ducking.

And the authorities apparently on some type of cat and mouse game, which we cannot see in these cavernous buildings around this very large city, trying to put an end to the siege, to get the militants under control and restore order to certain points of the City of Mumbai.

COSTELLO: Well, we've been seeing earlier, not far away from this, at that Jewish Center, commandos were on the roof. I mean, they're being very aggressive now, it appears, in trying to root out these terrorists and end this situation, which has been going on for 44 hours now.

JOHNS: It's an extraordinary situation. Intelligence, analysts you talk to look at it and say, there are some facets of it I simply have never seen before. Just that notion of a concerted attack going to a variety of different locations around one city, taking over hotels. You think also about the timing of it. This was the time of year when the tourist season was beginning there. As we were told from Sara Sidner, because it was now becoming a little bit cooler, the weather was, and India expecting a lot of people. An influx of visitors.

COSTELLO: What was interesting to me is some of those hotels like the Taj and the Oberoi were actually serving Thanksgiving Day dinner.

JOHNS: Right, for Americans. COSTELLO: So, the terrorist struck on the eve of Thanksgiving. You know, the theory is hoping that more Americans would be out and about at restaurants and stuff, and they could easily take them hostage.

JOHNS: Right. Apparently targeting Britain, targeting Americans, asking for Americans we heard early on to try to sort of sort them out from the other people in the crowds. Young men we're told that has never been changed. A number of young men, very young men with AK-47s we're told, bags of grenades, setting them off, apparently there for a very long time. Setting up command centers inside the hotels. Just something extraordinary in terms of how it was planned and how it was executed.

COSTELLO: Right. And you get the sense they wanted it to go on a long time, because some of these men actually had bags of omens on them so that they could keep their energy up through a long ordeal.

JOHNS: Right. Just extraordinary. And so, where do these men come from? Of course a report that some of them have been taken into custody, certainly by now, being interrogated to try to find out who's at the center of this, where does it come from. A lot of speculation now of course that al-Qaeda was somehow involved, simply because of the nature of the attack, how careful it was planned, how careful it was executed. You have to wonder -- you do have to wonder whether al- Qaeda was involved, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. You know, it is hard to believe. It's been more than 44 hours since terrorist fired their first shots on Mumbai. Just a quick recap for you now on what we know in an "AM Extra."

It was just before noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, when at least 12 gunmen arrived in the City of Mumbai on small boats. They split into groups using guns and grenades. They then attacked people inside a major train station, then moved on to a popular tourist cafe, and then a women and children's hospital. The terrorist then stormed at Jewish Center and The Taj and Oberoi Hotels. Inside they shot countless people, while taking others hostage. Again the latest word from police, at least 146 people killed in all, 327 wounded. At the Oberoi hotel alone, 30 bodies inside.

JOHNS: And that's a big thing that's got so many people worried. These are nuclear neighbors with a history of hating each other. How the Mumbai massacre could reverse the progress between India and Pakistan, and what that could mean for our new president. It is 14 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Explosions and gunfire again at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India. All this morning, we've seen explosions coming from the first floor of this hotel. We understand that some smoke is coming from one of the windows in the hotel, which means there is another fire inside. You can see the smoke right there, I believe, coming up. You see it there. There have also been explosions on the top floor of The Taj. We're not exactly sure what's going on inside of that hotel, but authorities tell us at least one suspected terrorist still inside that hotel. And we have absolutely no idea if there are guests still hold up in The Taj. We believe there may be some. But earlier, we know that some of the guests were let free -- were allowed to go free. At least four of them -- four of them from Chicago.

As you can see, the situation in Mumbai still fast-moving and extremely dangerous. A U.S. investigative team is now being sent to the city. In fact, it's already there, I believe.

In the meantime, President-elect Barack Obama is staying on top of this situation. Ed Henry following that end of the story. He's live in Chicago.

Hello, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol. Absolutely. You can see that these horrific images are a fresh reminder about the national security challenges ahead for the incoming U.S. president. And in fact, he's been doing all he can to stay on top of this situation, getting briefings from his national security staff throughout this Thanksgiving, sort of early part into the weekend.

He was expected to just be here at his residence with family and friends, but instead, for the past two days, on Wednesday and Thursday, he got briefings directly from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone. The Bush administration pledging to keep the president-elect in the loop.

Obviously, we're in sort of an awkward time right now where you still have President Bush calling the shots on U.S. policy, but clearly Barack Obama getting closer and closer to being sworn in. He obviously also wants to be very careful about not stepping on any toes at the White House, not look like he's interfering.

So, largely, his role so far, for the president-elect has been to get briefings from his staff, to communicate and cooperate with the Bush administration. To make sure everyone is on the same page.

It's largely what we've seen with the financial crisis in recent weeks. We've talked about how there's a leadership, sort of a power vacuum right now with President Bush as a lame duck. Leaders all around the world looking to Barack Obama for leadership.

But he's been very careful on the economy, on the financial crisis. Again, not to interfere with the Bush administration policies -- their bailouts, the response to the financial crisis. But instead, Barack Obama has been focused on getting briefings on the financial crisis, on rolling out his economic team this past week, to make sure the world knows that he wants to hit the ground running on January 20th in dealing with that crisis.

But, also, we should point out that next week, at the early part of the week, we're expecting that Barack Obama will be rolling out his national security team, including Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. The current Defense Secretary Robert Gates staying on in that position. And obviously, that will give him a chance now in general to weigh in on national security and try to send the world a signal that, again, he plans to hit the ground running on January 20th.

Carol?

COSTELLO: You know, but a lot of political types are saying, you know, why wait until January 20th. Why not just get this thing done? Why doesn't Barack Obama just go ahead and reach out to the leaders of India and Pakistan, because as you can see the situation is very tense there.

India's leader has already brought up that maybe, maybe, maybe Pakistan has been involved. And you know how tense that can situation can become, and dangerous for Americans as well who are being targeted now overseas.

HENRY: Absolutely. And you know obviously we should put out, there's always the chance that Barack Obama in the days ahead may reach out to either/or both of the leaders in India and Pakistan, other world leaders in the region, if he thinks it could be helpful.

But I think at this point it's clear that he's trying to stay abreast of the situation, but not interfere. If he starts placing calls to some of these world leaders, it could make it look like it's world diplomacy, because he has not been sworn in yet. He wants to make sure -- as you saw President Bush yesterday from Camp David, did reach out to the Indian prime minister, offer U.S. help, et cetera.

Right now, Barack Obama is not in charge of the U.S. Armed Forces. He's not in charge of U.S. relief efforts. So, it's very limited what he can do. As you point out, Barack Obama's words are being watched very closely. Anything he says could obviously offer help, but also could have a negative impact, just as on the economy we've seen.

Anything Barack Obama says right now about tax cuts, about an economic recovery plan, the markets react, either positively or negatively, based on how he response to reporters questions. And so, the same deal applies obviously internationally, even more so. He has to be very careful not to interfere here and make sure that the U.S. right now is speaking with one voice.

Carol?

COSTELLO: Ed Henry live in Chicago as we continue to look at these pictures live from Mumbai, India.

Joe?

JOHNS: Right. Let us take a look there, a closer look in fact at the Taj Hotel. You can see smoke rising out of the windows there. It looks like one of the lower floors. Now, this was preceded by an explosion that happened just a little while ago. We had videotape rolling on that at the time. Let's take a look at that explosion. So, there you go. It's one of many explosions at that beautiful, old, ornate hotel in Mumbai. That's the Taj Mahal Hotel, which has been the scene of a siege that has lasted for well over 40 hours. Night has now fallen in Mumbai once again, and we are looking at more explosions. We don't know what's going on, of course, in that hotel.

We do know from reporting by Nic Robertson just a little while ago that there were some concerns at the Chabad Center, about the possibility of going into nightfall and not having the situation resolved. So, it could very well be that authorities there are also concerned about that.

What we're being told now, this is reporting by CNN, that operations at the Chabad House are in the final stages. That the standoff there, where several Jews had been believed to have been held as hostages is not over, but it is in its final stages.

Here, you can see some pictures apparently on the ground. We were looking just a little while ago. We saw people with their hands up in the air. And while there is no sound, it did at least appeared that there was for that period a measure of jubilation in the crowd, suggesting that they were happy about some result. It wasn't clear exactly at that time what the result was, but now we know from authorities that they believe they're in the final stages. And we use caution again there, because so many times before in some of these other locations, we've been told it's over when it wasn't over. But that's what they're telling us now. The operation is in its final stages.

COSTELLO: And of course we're hoping in that -- the Jewish Center situation is over, because there is an American rabbi and his wife held hostage inside. Nic Robertson is among that crowd of people. We're trying to get a established, a live signal with Nic to find out exactly what's been going on.

But we do know that commandos have been on top of that Jewish Center. They've been -- there had been several explosions and gunfire coming from inside of the Jewish Center.

There were some reports that the rabbi and his wife were seen unconscious inside the building. We don't know what that means. Earlier, we thought that there might have been six or more hostages being held inside the Jewish Center, but we understand that a cook and the rabbi's 2-year-old son managed to escape and are believed to be safe right now.

JOHNS: We finally gotten Nic Robertson on the phone.

COSTELLO: You do. That's good.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: So, Nic, when I come to you and you can tell us a little bit about the pictures we've seen. People with their hands in the air. Authorities suggesting to CNN that the operation there is in its final stages.

VOICE OF NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, we've seen in the last 20 minutes or so, the crowds are cheering. They surged through the street. Police came out and told them from megaphone or loud speaker that the operation wasn't quite concluded and its final stages still ongoing.

And what I'm looking down on now, the crowds lining the streets, clapping their hands as I'm counting one, two, three, four, five, six, military trucks, army trucks, each with about 15 soldiers in. It's driving away. This heavily-armed -- look like they're heavily-armed and well-equipped commandos has been watching via the roof of the Jewish Center.

About five or six trucks there -- the soldiers, perhaps (INAUDIBLE) between 70, 80, 90 of those soldiers driving away from the scene. The indication here that the army is pulling back, that the police officials who said before that the situation was reaching its conclusion matching what the crowd has been seeing here, Joe. That the standoff at the Jewish Center is in fact over.

We don't have that confirmed by the police yet. We don't have an official yet telling us how it concluded, on what happened and how the rabbi and his family are. But the indications we're getting on the street are, that it must be a bit safe, Joe, winding down because they're pulling back so many heavily-equipped army soldiers and the crowd here absolutely sensing a moment of success. They've been chanting "God save India" and "Long live India."

Joe?

JOHNS: We are looking now at some live pictures from our sister network as we talk to you, Nic. My question, having look at these for a while, and the people with their hands in the air, what was it that gave them the general indication that this thing was coming to an end? Was it just the fact that the military trucks began moving away or as it something else?

ROBERTSON: People have been (INAUDIBLE) overlooking the Jewish Center. Some of them closer to where we've been standing. People who live in buildings, they can overlook and see what's happening. And certainly, they're communicating with the people at the building. We're communicating by mobile phones. They're able to talk to each other and I think it's by word of mouth across the street. People actually with eyes on the Jewish Center, able to say, OK, the situation is changing and communication back to that -- to that friends and neighbors around.

We were able to see in the hour before this rumor and feeling began to spread among the crowd, certainly a significant uptick in activity about an hour before dark. That's about two hours ago.

There was a very big explosion. A big bright, white flash. A lot of smoke we haven't seen that here before, and then heavy exchanges of gunfire. A lot of commandos on the roof for the building. We haven't seen that before. It gave the impression of a significant push by the security forces here, to deal with the situation by nightfall and then as nightfall came. So there's rumors still. So the indications are from the authorities that it is in its closing stages. The latest we have from the deputy commissioner here is that it isn't concluded yet.

Joe?

JOHNS: Nic Robertson, thank you so much for that reporting. We'll get back to you.

COSTELLO: Yes. And hopefully, have more word on the rabbi and his wife and his family, and we sure hope they're OK.

We're going to go back live to Mumbai actually right now to show you more pictures of the Taj Mahal Hotel. It's been under siege this morning. Again, explosions and gunfire coming from the hotel. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An update as the story developing right now. The siege at the Jewish Center, where Indian commandos were battling terrorist in Mumbai is now in its final stages. That's according to authorities. Police telling CNN, the operation though is not yet over. There were explosions followed by gunfire there. Also at the Taj Hotel deafening blasts that sent our crew running. At least 146 people now reported dead in the past three days.

The death toll may continue to rise with more blasts going off in India. It is the third day of the terrorist siege in the city and there is still no clear idea of who's to blame. Let's bring in our State Department correspondent Zain Verjee. She's joining us live from Washington.

Any new word from the State Department on who might be responsible for this thing?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: It's still early stages and there are so many different moving parts. What the State Department is doing right now is trying weed through all the layers that it needs to. It's got to figure out U.S. casualties, what the situation is on the ground. It's trying to get information about its own citizens and account for all of them.

Another layer is the diplomatic layer. Secretary of State Rice has been working the phones and speaking to Indian officials, likely talking to Pakistani officials as well, trying to stay in touch with the State Department and diplomatic people on the ground as well.

Another layer is keeping in touch with the transition team, making sure that President-elect Obama is informed and aware. And of course trying to sort out and understand with any kind of specificity and the clues that we're getting about how this may have been executed. What the state department is telling us right here and right now is that at least three Americans have been injured. They are combing hospitals to see if they can find any more U.S. casualties. The Consulate General is open in Mumbai, the officers helping Americans that basically need emergency passports to get out because they don't any way to travel.

So there are a lot of different moving parts right now for the State Department and they're just working on trying to prioritize the situation first which on the one hand is just trying to account for the U.S. citizens and at the same time, work the diplomatic level on a much bigger picture and make sure everyone is on the same page.

COSTELLO: let's talk about the diplomatic angle, Zain. Because the real concern here is that tensions will rise between India and Pakistan. What have you heard about that?

VERJEE: Yes, that's the real danger here. I mean if these attacks in Mumbai were conducted with any kind of link to Islamic militants translate that have a connection to Pakistan, then the Indian government is going to be politically in a difficult position. It's going to have no choice but to come out and accuse Pakistan. And if it does that, it's going to have to do something about it.

So India and Pakistan relations have actually improved. The Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has made some really significant overtures to India. And they could really be undermined by an attack like this. And these are two nuclear countries. It takes just a little spark. And this is certainly not little. Anything can inflame a situation. Of course, the two nations have been battling Kashmir, a disputed region, for decades. So, it's a dangerous situation and one the U.S. will get pulled into.

COSTELLO: All right. Zain Verjee, reporting live from Washington for us this morning. Thanks.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Recapping what's going on in Mumbai. Right now, what we do know is that authorities are telling us they are wrapping up operations at the Chabad Center. That is the Jewish Center in Mumbai. We do know that the authorities have not talked to our correspondent on the ground that is Nic Robertson about the shape, the condition, the status of the rabbi inside and his family.

We know also there at the Taj Hotel within the hour, there has been another explosion there, one of many that has occurred throughout the day. The authorities have been apparently going through that hotel trying to locate anyone, trying to locate militants, who may remain inside. We've heard shots throughout the day from our correspondent on the ground, Sara Sidner. We know also about the Oberoi Hotel. Things apparently quiet there for now.

From Nic Robertson, correspondent on the ground. He tells us he has seen a lot of people moving outside of that building. So this has gone on now for the better part of two days there in Mumbai, which is better known by people around the world as Bombay. It is of course the financial district. It is also a tourist center. These attacks began at the very beginning of the tourist season there in that country and in that city. Carol, to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Both President Bush and President-elect Obama have responded to the India attacks. So what's the challenge moving forward, challenge is an understatement, isn't?

Joining me now, Patricia Murphy, the editor of citizenjanepolitics.com. and Princeton University associate professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell. Welcome to both of you.

So the President-elect has a lot on his plate. He's dealing with the economy and now, he's got to deal with the situation in India. You know with the India-Pakistan situation, so where does he focus right now do you think, Patricia?

PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Well he's doing what I think he needs to do and what's appropriate to do. As he says consistently, there's only one president at a time. So he's been in touch with Secretary Rice.

He's been in very consistent touch with the National Counterterrorism Center, which is designed for an event just like this. So that somebody can monitor all of the intelligence reports at the same time. But he cannot be directly in touch publicly with the Indian government. That's something that the President must do. So he's monitoring the situation, staying on top of it but he can't go much further than that because he's not the president yet.

COSTELLO: Well, I think that very much weighs on his mind. I mean he told Barbara Walters that he was kind of concerned about his lack of authority at this time. And some people, Melissa are suggesting that he become a more active player in this crisis in India.

MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: No, I think that would be very dangerous. I mean, absolutely, we have one president at a time. The responsibility of outgoing President George W. Bush is to keep Barack Obama in the loop here, to keep the transition team informed, to make sure that our next Secretary of State is clear about the diplomatic tensions here, but it is not the role of the president-elect to be directly in contact with heads of state during this kind of transition. That I think would be quite dangerous and would show precisely the wrong kind of signal to the rest of the world.

COSTELLO: And Patricia, he's going to get together his national security team. He's going to be naming the members of his national security team next week. One of the names is Hillary Clinton. And she is going to have to deal eventually with this crisis. Tell me a little bit about what you might expect, of course she has to be confirmed et cetera. But tell me what we might expect from her in dealing with Pakistan and India and how that might differ from Barack Obama's own policies.

MURPHY: Her policy cannot differ from Barack Obama policy. She is going to be serving at his pleasure. What we do know about Hillary Clinton is that she led delegations to India as First Lady as well as Secretary of State. She has a very strong relationship with the Indian-American community.

That's not to say that she would favor India over Pakistan. But she does have ties there and that's precisely why Barack Obama is choosing a team of people with a great deal of experience. He is the first president since JFK with no executive experience. We see him on the economic front and on the foreign policy front surrounding himself with people who do have decades of experience and are going to support him.

COSTELLO: And you know Melissa, we heard Patricia say that Hillary Clinton is going to go along with Barack Obama's policies, but there are some people who think that Hillary and Bill Clinton are going to create their own kind of shadow government and do what they will.

HARRIS-LACEWELL: Sure. Well, I know there's a lot of anxiety here for people who were Obama supporters. In the primaries, one of the key ways that Barack Obama distinguished himself from Hillary Clinton, one of the ways the campaign encouraged supporters to choose him over Hillary had everything to do with her judgment on foreign policy issues.

These are two candidates who were very close to each other, not very different on domestic policy, but on foreign policy, Obama supporters were told that Hillary Clinton was making the wrong choices, had bad judgment on the war in Iraq. So I do think that there's probably some anxiety for those who were Obama supporters in the primaries. I'm one of those people, who now see Hillary Clinton taking on precisely the role that during the primaries, again, supporters were told that Hillary was wrong on foreign policy.

COSTELLO: And following that, Patricia, you know Barack Obama's got to keep on Secretary Gates. He's a republican. And Hillary Clinton voted for the war and she made no apologies about it, so it seems that some members of his national security team are a bit more hawkish than he is.

MURPHY: It does seem that way. He certainly although have comments in the debates against John McCain but he was quite hawkish himself talking about going into Pakistan without prior permission from that government. But these are people he is choosing to put around himself. He knows their differences with is own policies that he said the change will start at the top.

His team will implement those changes and his audience is no longer the left wing of the democratic party. His audience is foreign leaders abroad, certainly Al Qaeda. He has different audiences that he's talking to now. And I think the left wing will come along with him. They put a lot of trust in time but he's asking them to go along with him this time.

COSTELLO: Patricia Murphy, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, thanks so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

MURPHY: Thanks, very much. JOHNS: We're following all the developments live on the ground in Mumbai as commando operations continue. We're tapping into the global resources of CNN and we'll go live to the scene next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Major developments unfolding in Mumbai at this very moment. Police say the Oberoi Hotel is now under their control. Cleared of any terrorists, but the gunfire continues for the third straight day at the Taj Mahal Hotel. We've heard all morning long, explosions followed by gunfire.

Meanwhile, at the Chabad House Jewish Center, the situation is said to be in its final stages. The death toll now topping at least 146 people and officials say eight foreigners are among the dead. Separately the FBI is sending a small team of investigators to Mumbai.

COSTELLO: An event though changing quickly at the Taj Hotel but a little earlier here on AMERICAN MORNING, our Sara Sidner who is reporting from outside the hotel told me some good news coming from the inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was just getting a text message from four Americans who have been inside this hotel from Chicago who we've been talking to throughout this 42, 43 hour ordeal now. They have apparently been taken out. They have made it out and they are well. The family is writing me and they are very happy and so we should say that group of four people who were calling and saying we're running out of water, sorry, they've made it out. The family is very happy.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're so emotional about this. You've established a relationship with the family in Chicago then and have been texting them often, right?

SIDNER: Yes, over the past few hours, I text them, are you OK, because I hear all the loud bangs. As I was coming from my hotel, taken down a few hours and was feeling quite guilty that I wasn't out here watching the situation. And when I got back, I got a text from one of their family members in Chicago (inaudible) they say they are out. They've been let out and they are safe and just a few moments ago, texting, were safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And Sara Sidner, clearly emotional about that. You know as reporters, we're supposed to remain objective, but it's tough when you're communicating with someone in a dangerous situation and you're hoping for the best for them. Let's head back to Mumbai and then talk with Sara more about this.

Tell us about the relationship you established between the family trapped inside of that hotel and their family members back home in Chicago. SIDNER: Well what happened was that the family contacted CNN and contacted one of our desk operators there on in the international desks, one of our desk supervisors and then I got their telephone number. They said they would call me or that I should call them. I was a little hesitant wondering if their phone would ring. If that would alert terrorists that they are in their room but they are very smart about it, a very strong family. And they knew what to do. They had it on silent. And we've been having conversations over the last 10 or 15 hours. And they've been saying things like you know, please - after we mentioned that they were there. Please don't tell where we are, don't tell what floor we're on. Of course we would never do something like that to put you in jeopardy. But wanting to find out how they were.

A family that came here, there were four people, a wife and husband, the sister-in-law and a best friend. They were all here for a three-week trip, a fun time together that turned into a complete nightmare, turned into almost 48 hours inside two hotel rooms that were next to each other with the lights out and very little drinking water after 24 hours, very little food to eat, but still a strong spirit. They contacted their family members in Chicago who then started contacting me via text message, via e-mail and via phone. And their family members are getting so emotional at times because they can hear the bangs.

They could see our live shots at CNN and they can see me docking and they became very concerned when they saw the fire as well asking us where should our family go, what should we do now. I said if they're not seeing smoke, just hold tight and wait for the authorities to come and rescue you. But it is such a situation where you almost start feeling like you're responsible for their health and well being even though you're outside. And don't have a lot of abilities to do anything for them. So you sort of start feeling this cord between you and other human beings. Any one in there no matter their race, color, creed or socio-economic background, it doesn't matter. We're all human beings, we feel for these families.

COSTELLO: Absolutely you're the lifeline between them, between the family members in Chicago and the family members who were trapped in the Taj Hotel. You said that they were running out of water. Does that mean that authorities cut off the water to the hotel?

SIDNER: No, this is the interesting thing here. Because in many parts of India, most of India, you cannot drink the tap water. The tap water tends to get people with dysentery, diarrhea, that sort of thing. And so typically, in these five star hotels and in any hotel, you get bottled water. And you might imagine, they usually put two or three bottles of water for you to drink and so once they start running out of that, and anything that the hotel was able to get to them, then you drink the water that might be contaminated and make you sick and then you're in a different situation or do you go thirsty and then feel terrible that way. So it's a very difficult dilemma.

COSTELLO: I should remember that. You're right. Sara Sidner, great job this morning. We'll get back to you. JOHNS: 47 minutes past the hour. Just in to CNN, we've learned the U.S. military is offering aid to India this morning. So why are authorities there saying no? Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Carol Mackoff, a Chicago native and her husband have been evacuated from the Taj Hotel by the Indian military and they are safe after being trapped for 40 hours. Carol, thanks so much for joining us here on the phone. Can you give me some sense of what it was like in the beginning? What did you see and hear?

VOICE OF CAROL MACKOFF: In the beginning, we heard shots. We didn't know what was happening, but we saw men running down our hallway and we could see through the peephole in the door, we could see guns in their hands. They actually rang our doorbell two times.

JOHNS: And what did you do?

MACKOFF: And we did not respond.

JOHNS: You didn't respond. And -

MACKOFF: Of course not.

JOHNS: Did you block the door?

MACKOFF: We actually, we locked every possible lock on the door. We put the heaviest suitcases against it and when the explosions started to occur and smoke filled the hallway, we would put wet towels at the base of the door.

JOHNS: And through the course of these 40 hours, I guess you continued to hear unusual sounds and didn't know what they were. So what did you do? Communicate -

MACKOFF: We knew what they were - we knew what they were because I was in contact with the U.S. consulate and that's where I was text messaging and I was also in contact with our travel emergency assistance program and between them and mostly because of Jennifer on your international desk, I was able to stay in contact. They must have been taken out the satellite dish. We had no TV. We had no access to the outside world and CNN, but Jennifer in your international desk in Atlanta, we were in constant contact. We talked to each other quite frequently and she kept me filled in on what was going on CNN and I kept her filled in on what was going on from what I could hear.

JOHNS: Did you have food? Did you have water?

MACKOFF: Well, I guess chocolate chip cookies you know meet all the food group requirements because that's all we had. We had cookies and we have some leftover things that we brought from home and some cashew nuts that we bought in the southern part of India. Other than that, you know, the food, this is what we're eating.

JOHNS: Give us some sense now of how this came to an end for you, how you got out.

MACKOFF: Oh, this was quite remarkable. The Indian Army was amazing. The U.S. Consulate working in contact with them, they kept telling us when, wait for the Indian Army to let you know and then they informed us as the final assault was beginning and finally we had a call from the colonel in the army who said we are going to give a password. If we give you the correct password, you open your door and you come quietly with us. And that's exactly what happened.

JOHNS: And so they came to your door -

MACKOFF: They gave us a password and an approximate time they were coming for us. (INAUDIBLE

JOHNS: Carol Mackoff, we're losing our telephone connection with you. We're going to get off and try to reestablish it. We're very glad you're safe. And safe travels as well. Carol.

COSTELLO: That was interesting to me, when cell phone service goes out in India because it's not dependable. Mumbai is where we call when we have problems with our computer. I mean Dell has offices there.

JOHNS: That's right. HP too.

COSTELLO: I just find that ironic.

Just in to CNN, we've learned the U.S. military offered extensive aid to India this morning, including medical supplies and special forces to help in hostage rescues. India has now rejected that offer. It's still unclear exactly why. We're working the story from Washington and from Mumbai to try to get answers for you. Stay with us. We're back live from Mumbai next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A bit of brighter news this morning. We understand the situation at the Jewish Center is now under control. You know that's where an American rabbi and his wife and other hostages were being held these past 48 hours or so. We want to go live to Mumbai now. Our Nic Robertson, he was there as people celebrated in the streets. Nic, any new information you can pass along to us about the rabbi?

VOICE OF NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No new information that we're getting here on the streets and the police or the Army. The crowd still lining the road. Still police - where it was before the crowds (inaudible) about an hour or so ago when they felt that the standoff had come to an end. We just saw in the last few minutes two truckloads of commandos drive in. the crowd quite literally (inaudible) as they drove toward the Jewish Center. But at the moment, the police were (inaudible) to disperse them, get them to go away, but quite what has happened is that the siege of the Jewish Center has definitively been over. It's not clear, however, we do have eyewitness accounts from the other side of the Jewish Center from where we stand that large explosions had been reported a couple of hours this was just before eyewitness say it was blocked off by the huge explosion and then the commandos jumped from the roof and then went down the side of the building by rope and in through the hall where the wall had been just blown away. That was essentially from the eyewitness accounts of how the commandos raided and stormed their way in from another part of the (inaudible). And shortly there after, then the rumors began that it was drawing to a conclusion. A deputy police commissioner saying it was sort of conclusion but still not over. Right now, (inaudible) enough information here of what exactly transpired at the end.

JOHNS: All right. Nic Robertson there at the Jewish Center in Mumbai. The situation apparently coming to an end. A good end. A good result of authorities obviously wanting to get this thing done before night fell in Mumbai.

COSTELLO: Now we have word that the Oberoi Hotel situation apparently over. The Jewish Center situation apparently over. But gunfire of course still coming from the Taj Mahal Hotel. They believe one suspected terrorist is still holed up inside and there still could be guests holed up in hotel rooms. We just don't know. That situation continues to be fluid.

JOHNS: So thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It has been quite a long morning as well, has it now?

COSTELLO: It has been but we hope your day is improved and we hope you go shopping. That's what you do on black Friday, really. Let's head to the NEWSROOM now and Fredricka Whitfield.