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Siege in Mumbai

Aired November 28, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much. Carol and Joe, thank you.
Happening right now, progress in the fight against terrorists. And update the Jewish center standoff.

And in this country, will it be a black Friday? In a tough economy, the holiday shopping season is supposed to kick off.

It is Friday, November 28th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins. And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

That's right. This morning, again, more explosions, more gunfire and more bloodshed in India. 44 hours after terrorists first laid siege to a Jewish center in Mumbai, commandos stormed into one of the last sites held by gunmen.

And just a couple of minutes ago, our sister network in India reports a grim discovery there. And earlier this morning, hostages are freed from the Oberoi Hotel. But Indian troops find the bodies of yet more victims. The latest death toll now stands at 146. The total number of those wounded, 327.

And this is video shot by our sister network in India, CNN-IBN. It captures one of this morning's explosions at the Taj Mahal Hotel. For the past two days, CNN's Sara Sidner has been on the edge of drama at that location. She joins us now with the very latest.

Sara, we saw these images just earlier where you were crouching yet again, more explosions taking place outside the Taj Mahal. Now joining us live, what's the situation?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm standing now a bit away from the area where we were crouching down. All of the journalists were sort of crouching because there have been so many shots that have rung out and so many loud explosions.

We wanted to get into a position where we could -- we could sort of scurry off and lay low. We moved back -- you know, all of the crew here decided for their own safety, we need to move back, put on flack jackets and be in a secure position.

I'm standing between two vans right now. But over the past couple of hours, what's transpired is basically lots of loud booms, lots of sounds of gunfire going off, and then silence. And there will be silence for 45 minutes, maybe an hour, and then you'll hear sort of a muffled sound inside. Let me let you know that we did hear -- we're able to get information from a police chief who said that what they believe is there is one terrorist still alive and still operating inside of the Taj. He has an AK-47 possibly and some grenades as well.

So some of those muffled sounds, some of those muffled booms could possibly be those grenades. Certainly those big, loud explosions, we're not sure who is setting those off, whether it's the commandos trying to flush out the terrorist that is still inside or not.

We've noticed windows that have been blown out and over the course of the past 45 minutes, though, it's been pretty quiet, although every now and then you'll hear what sounds like a muffled, sort of a boom, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And give me an -- an idea now if you're getting any more clarity from authorities on the ground there. There have been conflicting reports within the past 24 hours alone. Doesn't it seem to be narrowed down or a little bit more focused now?

SIDNER: Yes. That is one of the real problems, I think, that is happening out here is that for the public and for journalists, really not getting information that sticks for more than 10 to 15 minutes or more than 45 minutes at the most.

What you hear is that things are dying down, authorities are saying, OK, the situation appears to be over, and then you hear a succession of loud blasts and gunfire. Obviously, the situation is not over.

Overnight, I was here when -- we got a call from someone inside the hotel saying don't say the situation is over, we're hold up in our hotel. We can hear the gun shots and we can hear the blasts.

You're noticing that I look sort of dark. There's not a lot of light on me, and that is because the authorities have basically told us that they don't want the light too bright outside of the Taj. That that might disrupt what they're doing inside so we've turned the light to the ground and sort of giving me a little bit of shadow just so you can barely see my face.

So that is why I am a bit dark at this point in time. But inside, there's still a bit of chaos going on. No one knows, number one, how many people are in there, how many might be hostages, how many might just be guests who are hold up in their rooms.

But now, this happened around 9:30 to 10:00, 40 -- almost 48 hours ago. Two days of this and two days of not being able to drink the tap water because you cannot drink the tap water in India. It can make you sick. And some of these people are certainly running out of water and certainly running out of food at this hour, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so since it's still unclear how many people or clients in the hotel may still be there, any kind of number of how many have been able to escape or been released over the last 48 hours? SIDNER: Yes. We have seen people leave. We have seen people escape. We do know there were, for example, four Americans who escaped. We saw an Australian who spoke with us who escaped. So we do know that the good news is some of the people, some of the guests, people holed up in the rooms, have been able to get out.

All right. That was just another what sounded like maybe gunfire. I'm going to move out of the shot and see if you can see maybe something going on back there.

When you hear the loud explosions, Fredricka, there is a particular area where it just seems to be a target. A window that you can see a bit of a curtain kind of billowing out. There is no longer any glass there. That has been blown out by some sort of explosive as had the window directly next to it to the left.

And so that has been a constant, these loud blasts and then a few gun shots and then back to loud blasts and then to complete silence. There have also been fires. And we should talk about those because when these fires erupt, when we see smoke billowing from an area or flames licking out of the top of the hotel, of course, that means another hazard for those who are possibly still inside, those who are wondering what to do.

As -- if any smoke is to reach the room, we do not know any details about that right now. But I can tell you that we're are not seeing smoke at this hour, which is another bit of good news. So there have been -- have been guests in the hotel who have been able to get out and there have been no smoke in the last hour or so, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And it's difficult, Sara, for you to discern that smoke, what it means, whether that is the -- whether it's one terrorist, or more than one, or whether that is indeed the army commandos or law enforcement trying to take out or get better control of the situation.

Sara Sidner, thanks so much. Appreciate it, outside the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Meantime, another very tenuous situation taking place not far from there at a Jewish center there in Mumbai. You're looking at images right now of how army commandos were trying to take siege of that location while hostage takers had a number of people at their control there.

Nic Robertson is outside that Jewish center there in Mumbai. He joins us you.

CNN's -- CNN-IBN, Nic, has been giving us information about a number of hostages that may have been killed at that location. What can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have heard from our sister network, IBN, that those five hostages inside the building were found dead. What we know that has happened, we have heard from eyewitnesses.

They tell us that the loud explosion that we saw and heard about an hour before dusk was an explosion that blew off part of the wall of the Jewish center. Commandos then went down the outside of the building by rope from the rope. Entered the building there and that seemed to be really the beginning of the end of the siege.

We're seeing that increase of activity. We're seeing commandos haul equipment to the roof. The commandos mass on the roofing in greater numbers than we've seen whole afternoon.

Several loud explosions. Rocket propelled grenades were fired or appeared to be fired by the commandos. And then for -- let's say, for the last hour or so, we haven't heard a single gunshot fired. And about an hour ago, the crowds came out on the street from the rooftop, they were cheering.

The situation now much more muted. The crowds here believed that the situation was over. The deputy police commissioner said it wasn't quite over, it was in its final stages. But the information from our sister network that the five people inside, the five people inside were dead.

We also understand now from -- foreign ministry official, Haim Hoshen, foreign ministry official who is in Mumbai, has also said in an interview that the five bodies of hostages were found inside Nariman House.

So another source there with that information. But we haven't been able to yet obtain, CNN hasn't been able to obtain from the police directly with the indication that the hostages inside the building did die during that -- or at the end of that siege. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much for that information.

CNN unable to confirm, however, CNN-IBN is reporting that five hostages have been killed at that Jewish center and the foreign ministry official is also saying that five bodies have been located. Very tough, difficult situations there taking place at the Jewish center.

Meantime, on the phone with us, there were some people who were able to be -- all right. There were some people that were able to leave that Jewish center.

Rabbi Shalom Paltiel of the Chabad center joining us now.

Give me an idea of what you're learning about what took place in that center. I realize that there's unconfirmed information about deaths involving some of the hostages, but has been your correspondence with people there at the center?

RABBI SHALOM PALTIEL, DIR., CHABAD CENTER IN PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.: You know, the key word is unsubstantiated. Obviously, it's minute by minute, second by second. You know we're holding our faith to the last minute, but I'm told that a few people or one person was taken by ambulance. But we don't know who it is.

Honestly, you know, we hope that it's one of the hostages and that people are safe, but it's changing minute by minute as I speak to you.

We have an amazing network. My BlackBerry here is receiving e- mails every 30 seconds from a rabbi somewhere else around the world. Chabad has centers in 3,000 places, literally around the globe, and for the last 27 hours, every 30 seconds, another e-mail comes in with another report from a rabbi.

So I don't know that anyone knows exactly what's going on. We're holding out hope.

WHITFIELD: You are close friends, you grew up with the rabbi at that center. So at first learning of the situation there, what kind of details were you getting? Were you able to get anything direct from the rabbi or from anyone in that center as soon as terrorists were able to take control of it as well?

PALTIEL: You know, we were told that the rabbi made some contact with the Israeli ambassador there, but the contact was cut off (INAUDIBLE) the phone calls. So no, there wasn't any direct contact.

However, you know, obviously, my reaction upon hearing it was disbelief. As soon as I knew that something was going on in Mumbai, the concern when something happens anywhere in the world is, you know, I have -- we all have friends that we know personally living everywhere in the world.

And, and then there was the report about the (INAUDIBLE) in the Chabad House. It was in disbelief. We heard the news that this couple, who had dedicated their lives to goodness and to kindness and to helping others are being held hostage.

I'm sitting here and praying that if, in fact, they're -- the worst has happened, that it didn't happen recently, it's -- it boggles the mind how evil people can be or monsters can be. And if I can tell you about this young man and his wife, wherever there's a Chabad representative, it's always a couple. Husband and wife team, equal team.

Anyone who goes to a Chabad House knows the wife does as much as the rabbi or more so, and both of them, delicious, beautiful people. This young rabbi was a scholar in the Yeshiva. He was -- he vested all of us. He's a number of years younger than I am. But I was well aware of the scholarship.

And instead of spending his life writing books and studying and teaching high level of Rabbinic, which he could have done, he chose to be a shliach, an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who inspired thousands to go out away from family, away from community, away from where there is a Jewish environment, and just live somewhere in some place just because there are people there who you can educate, who you can embrace, who you can help.

And day in, day out, the center there, as all our centers in Asia, and many other places, are helping locals and backpackers, who are literally...

WHITFIELD: Yes...

PALTIEL: ... out there (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable sacrifice being made by a number of people. As you said, there are 3,000 Chabad centers around the world. This one being targeted in Mumbai and still unclear exactly what is happening at that center and how your friend, the rabbi, may be doing, his wife and others who have been held against their will now for almost 48 hours.

Rabbi Shalom Paltiel, joining us now from New York. We appreciate your time, your insight as well. We may be consulting you again in the near future.

PALTIEL: If I could just mention real quick.

WHITFIELD: Yes, sure.

PALTIEL: Tomorrow is the birthday of Moshe, the son that was taken up by the nanny yesterday. And I know the rabbi, Gavi and Rivka would want us to celebrate Moshe's birthday. This is the young boy who was born, as we say in (INAUDIBLE), he was born a shliach. He was born giving. He was born with the message of love and in this crazy world where people are trying to spread hate, let us celebrate, regardless of what the news will be, and hopefully it will be good.

Let us celebrate Moshe's birthday by adding goodness and kindness. Randomly, the people around us by giving charity -- by the way, if someone wants to give charity to help rebuild this center, it's ChabadIndia.org.

My Jewish brother, and if I can say, it Chabad tonight. Let's light the candle in Chabad tonight before Chabad. Let's put our (INAUDIBLE) if we haven't done it in a long time.

Today is the day to unite, so smile to strangers and to turn our world around a little bit in honor and celebration of Moshe's birthday. And we pray, of course, for his well being and a wonderful life for him.

WHITFIELD: Well, Rabbi Paltiel, thanks so much. We're all saying our prayers that this ends peacefully and that more lives, perhaps, can be preserved. We appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

PALTIEL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, at least now, 327 wounded in the siege in Mumbai. Those are the latest numbers. Blood has been spilling out into the streets there in Mumbai. The wounded have been overcrowding the area hospitals. CNN's Matthew Chance has more now on these shattered lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They're the survivors of the appalling Mumbai attacks. Scarred by gunshots and shrapnel wounds in the violence that's gripped India's financial hub. Some only escaped death by a whisker.

Like 40-year-old Ramesh, who showed me the bullet hole in his shoulder inflicted when gunmen burst into the hotel restaurant where he was eating with his boss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My boss died on the spot. So he was sitting (INAUDIBLE) hiding, so I saw this wasn't coming, the gun, so we are using the BlackBerry. I want to go -- I put the BlackBerry like this and I cover him like this. So work here on the, not here.

CHANCE (on camera): You got shot in the shoulder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the shoulder, yes, that's right. And he asked me, are you all right. I told him I'm fine. Second shot gun to him on the -- direct to him. And the third, it came and just went like this.

CHANCE (voice over): We were granted exclusive access to Mumbai's Sir J.J. Hospital where most of the injured from the past few days are being treated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the bed of one of the policemen who...

CHANCE: One doctor shows me a twisted belt buckle, he says, stopped a terrorist bullet, saving the life of the policeman who is wearing it.

(On camera): All of this injured have incredible stories of survival to tell. Many have lost friends and loved ones in the Mumbai attacks. And they may not even be the last casualties to come out of this mess.

This city's nightmare is far from over.

(Voice over): For some, like this 13-year-old boy, the nightmare may never end. He's nursing wounds from a grenade blast that ripped through one of Mumbai's residential zones. He wants to leave the hospital soon, he told me, and go home. But doctors here say they don't have the heart to tell him that most of his family, his mom, his dad, his uncle and cousins, were killed in the attack.

It is another shattered life in a city now filled with tragedy.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Mumbai.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And they're Americans and their stories of survival, much more straight ahead in our continuing coverage of this terror in Mumbai.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A mix of gunfire, explosions and cheering for India's commandos there. The crowd sensing some defeat of the terrorists who seized the Jewish center there in Mumbai.

Just minutes ago, however, a grim report from Israel's government. The bodies of five hostages have been found in relation to the taking of that Jewish center. No word on hostages, however, possibly being held at the Taj Mahal Hotel. It is the last site held by the terrorists allegedly. Gunfire and explosions were heard just moments ago.

The latest confirmed death toll now, now stands at 146. The total number of those wounded, 327.

Our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is outside the Jewish center. He joins us now by phone.

Nic, there is confirmation now from the Israeli government that there were five hostages that have been killed. What are your sources telling us?

ROBERTSON: Here on the ground, the police are still not saying anything, Fredricka. There certainly is a much more muted atmosphere here. Just in the last few minutes, however, there were several gun shots fired. And we've seen the police strengthening the cordon across the road, keeping the crowd back.

There's a -- there are a lot of onlookers that have come to see what's going on. It's not clear why those shots were fired, whether the attackers or terrorists are still there inside the building or still in the area. That's just isn't clear. But the police are maintaining the cordon, keeping people back and not at this time confirming the information that we are now hearing from other sources, as you said, (INAUDIBLE) from the Israeli government saying that the five hostages in the building found dead.

In the minutes before the -- what appeared to be the conclusion or the final moments of the standoff there, the wall of part of the building was blown off. The commandos, the Indian commandos climbed down the wall by rope from the rood, entered the building by the hole that they have blown, by the hole that they have blown in the wall, and that seemed to lead the end of the standoff.

There's a lot of gunfire, a lot of explosions at that time. But apart from a few gunshots in the last few minutes, it has been very, very quiet here apart from the cheering crowd. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so it is your sense that it was the commandos, it was the army that's actually blown off -- using explosives to blow off part of that building for entry, not necessarily terrorists that may still be inside.

ROBERTSON: No, it definitely appeared that the -- that the commandos were using -- taking the initiative late in the afternoon. A big explosion just before dusk. They are masked -- more commandos on the roof of the building. It appeared that they brought in more commandos by helicopter.

They also hauled some heavy equipment to the roof by rope, again, in the sort of the final hour or so of daylight in the afternoon so they really seemed to make a concerted effort just before dark to bring the siege to an end. That appears to be in the process of happening.

The deputy police commissioner saying it is nearing an end but not entirely concluded yet. But as we're now hearing from Israeli officials, it has concluded very sadly that the rabbi, it appears, and his family who were inside the building and were taken hostage by the attackers. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: So is it clear how many people in all were in that house? I mean, might there have been more people including the rabbi and his family?

ROBERTSON: Certainly the rabbi and his family did have regular visitors to the house. Neighbors here have told us that they were popular among the Jewish community. A lot of people would go and see them. They would go there for meal. They -- there were regularly a lot of people going to that building, but the best accounts that we have so far, when the attackers struck, the rabbi, his wife and his two young children, and possibly a housekeeper or maid, were in the building which totals five.

The account since then have been very, very sketchy, have sometimes changed, but have not been confirmed by the police yet. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Sad news. All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much, outside the Chabad center there, where sad news coming that some of the hostages may indeed be dead, but again we're still waiting for independent confirmation, some information coming from the Israeli government there, as well as other officials there according to our reporting, as well as CNN-IBN.

Also, there were Americans that were caught in this siege. Many locations in Mumbai that were taken control by hostages. We're going to have more of their stories of survival thanks to our CNN-IBN sister network.

Here are some of the interview that you're going to be hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you let fear control you, fear runs your life and the terrorists have won. Don't let that happen. It's important to be fearful, if someone's got a gun on you, that's the appropriate time. But to live the rest of your life in fear because of this attack, no, you don't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The entire interview coming up, thanks to our sister network, CNN-IBN.

The terrorist siege in Mumbai and firsthand accounts from CNN iReporters as well. These images are from Aaron Kadri showing the Leopold restaurant. It's a popular tourist spot where gunmen walked in and simply opened fire.

The Mumbai native says security in the city is appalling by his account. He's hoping the Indian government will make use of these tragic lessons learned from these attacks.

And we want to hear from you. When you witness news, share it with us. Of course, we don't want to put your own life in danger. Just go to iReport.com, but remember again, be safe.

Making their move against the militants. We have an update on the security situation in Mumbai.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Just some of the latest images as Mumbai has been under siege for the last 48 hours. And now you see these images of crowd celebrating outside Mumbai's Jewish center only because they're sensing the defeat of the terrorist who seized the building.

However, just minutes ago, some grim news coming out of that location. The Israeli government is confirming that the bodies of five hostages have been found at that location.

No word on hostages possibly being held not far away from there at the Taj Mahal Hotel. It's the last site still held by terrorists allegedly. Just moments ago gunfire and explosions were heard from that location as well.

The latest confirmed death toll now standing at 146. The total number of those wounded, 327.

So the situation is changing by the moment at the Jewish center in Mumbai. Earlier we saw these amazing images coming in of Indian military commandos in action. We heard from our Nic Robertson that the commando actually used explosives and took out part of that building. However, it's still unclear about the terrorists inside, whether they were killed, apprehended or what.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson still outside the center, now joining us again by phone.

Nic, what's the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the situation here outside the Jewish Center is still developing. And there are a very loud explosions echoing around the building coming from the Jewish center. You can see against the night sky a bright flash as one of those explosions went past.

It does seem to give an indication there be operations that are still underway at the Jewish center. About 10, 12 minutes ago, there was an exchange with short bursts of gunfire, which was the first hint we'd had in well over an hour. And that the operations might still be ongoing.

I'm looking down at the street now and I can see a unit of soldiers moving in to a different side street, flanking the Jewish building. So it does seem to be that the operations there are not over. They're still ongoing.

We have now confirmed to CNN that indeed it appears that the Rabbi, his wife, two children and housekeeper died during that siege. We understand, from authorities that five hostages were found dead in that building. We don't have it clarified exactly who they were, they were yet but, it does seem very clear, and this was the Rabbi and his family.

But despite the fact that the commandos -- the Indian commandos who went on to the roof of the building, went inside the building by blowing a hole in the side of it a few hours ago, finding those bodies, it doesn't seem yet they've been able to defeat the terrorists who are inside the building. Those three explosions coming after a period of relative quiet for about an hour or so, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, were are those bodies, are they able to indicate were those bodies found together, is it clear whether the family members were killed during the terrorist siege or whether they may have been killed from the explosion from the army commandos?

ROBERTSON: That just isn't clear. And we can hear, one of the police or an army spokesman speaking in the street on a loud speaker at the moment, but it isn't clear. The last reports of the Rabbi and his family that they were seen lying unconscious on the floor of the building after the attackers stormed in. That was the last information it wasn't clear if at that moment they or soon after they passed away or they died during the operation.

But it does seem that the police and the commandos and army here have had to act with extreme caution in the hotels and at the Jewish center here because there are live hostages. So it does give an indication that during a good part of the siege, they were perhaps -- perhaps I mean we still don't have details from the police perhaps still alive and that's why the siege went on for so long. But it does not seem to be over at this stage now.

WHITFIELD: And so, Nic, just for folks who are just now joining us this Chabad Center, this Jewish community center also served as the residence for the Rabbi and his family?

ROBERTSON: The Rabbi and his wife, and 2 very young children; we believe a 2-year-old boy, and an infant, as well as a housekeeper lived in the building. Neighbors there around say that they knew the family, they kept themselves to themselves but amongst the Jewish community here they were very popular.

People would come over, they would share their meals together and that they were well-known in this locality. And people here on the building we've been standing on have been telling us their concern for the Rabbi and his family through all of this siege that's been going -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Nic, we spoke with a Rabbi from a Chabad Center out of New York who said that there are 3,000 some Chabad Centers across the world and that this Rabbi is one that the Rabbi we spoke to out of New York actually grew up with. So presumably, an American family that was based there in Mumbai working at this center?

ROBERTSON: Yes and with his wife and young children, who strongly felt that it was his role to go out and bring it into his community around the world. And that's what his neighbors here have told us that the other Jewish families in the area would go there and share meals. That he was a popular man among the community here -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, so sad. All right, Nic Robertson thanks so much there, from outside the Chabad Center there which is still a very tenuous situation; commandos still on the scene, unclear whether the terrorists have actually been apprehended or killed.

But some confirmation from the Israel government officials that this family -- the Rabbi, his wife, two children and a housekeeper -- their bodies have been found dead in the Chabad Center. We're still waiting more information, some clarity on exactly what transpired there.

Meantime, our sister network CNN-IBN has managed to get some pretty remarkable interviews with people who survived the siege of Mumbai. This American family among the survivors and here's their story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The story of every survivor we have met today is really the same, Indian or foreigner that kept us on tenterhooks that survived today. I'm being joined by Patricia and Bruce -- I think they look safe all, they're continuing to stay here in India.

PATRICIA SCOTT, SURVIVOR ON MUMBAI SIEGE: Yes, of course, of course. It was the only phone we had. The battery was running down. The phones in the hotel, the TV wasn't working, the lights were hardly working. They had re-invented our tour and we're not going home. We are not going to let the terrorists win there and ruin every thing.

BRUCE SCOTT, SURVIVOR ON MUMBAI SIEGE: We heard some noise outside. We didn't see or hear anybody, we didn't see terrorists but when I looked through I saw what looked like police. They were wearing armor, and a body armor, they had weapons. So I kind of tapped on the door and made a little, hello, I'm in here. I was afraid if I ran in the hall, they might think I was a bad guy. So we were very careful about that. They came in, they checked our credentials and they looked at our passport, they made sure the room was clean and they brought us out. They brought us down the 17 floors and we're here to tell the story and thank God.

P. SCOTT: And when we came down the floor with an Australian man and a South African man and a Chinese man and the two of us as American and there was blood all over the steps.

Thank God they took the bodies away because it would have been so hard. Everybody grabbed hands, a woman's heel, just standing there and you know that she kind of tried before as we were walking out -- we are so grateful that the passage of India tour group came through and helped us every hour, every step of the way. The commandos were so powerful, we felt so protected they did just a phenomenal job.

B. SCOTT: I might say, if you let fear control you, fear runs your life, and the terrorists have won. Don't let that happen. It's important to be fearful if someone's got a gun on you, then that's the appropriate time, but to live the rest of your life in fear because of this attack, no you don't do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Those Americans, Bruce and Patricia Scott, their first hand account of their situation there as survivors there in Mumbai and so many locations throughout Mumbai, were taken siege by terrorists. The situation still ongoing, some 48 hours later after it all began there in Mumbai; 146 dead in all now, 327 injured.

Some harrowing moments there for those survivors and of course, we're getting the latest information on the Chabad Center there, a Jewish center where it appears as though a family, an entire family, American family there, living in Mumbai, operating that center may have been killed as a result of this siege.

We're going to have a complete update coming from the U.S. State Department as well as from the Pentagon here in the U.S. and British authorities as well are very much getting involved in this investigation. An update from London straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New blasts and gunfire at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. This morning, our CNN crews are right in the middle of it all. In fact, several bystanders on the street were actually hurt by the latest blast there at the Taj Hotel. Police say at least one gunman may still be in that hotel.

And then there's new information on the siege at the Jewish center not far away. The Israeli Government now saying five hostages being held at the center are dead.

Operations are over at the Oberoi Hotel not far from the Taj Hotel. It was one of the bloodiest spots in the siege. More bodies have been found, raising the death toll now to 146 in all in these attacks. Mumbai police are now saying that eight foreigners are among the dead.

Our international security correspondent in London is Paula Newton. She has new information on this investigation. We know Paula that Scotland Yard has been very much involved in trying to figure out who is responsible for this. And now, there are some possible identification of the nationality of these terrorists?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's a very interesting angle, Fredricka. We had started to hear from this the moment British authorities had heard from it, going back almost 48 hours now. But until we had confirmation from the second source, we were reluctant to go with it.

The news being that perhaps as many as two of the militants, the terrorists responsible for these attacks are actually British. Now, the source tells us that what happened was when they had picked up one of the first militants, that person had said to them, yes, there are two British citizens among our group.

Scotland Yard, and you can tell a lot by the timing of this Fredricka, no sooner had we learned this information in Scotland Yard, dozens of detectives here from Scotland Yard were on the plane to Mumbai. They've been in Mumbai for more than a day already trying to investigate this.

Also, the domestic and foreign intelligence agencies here both MI-5 and MI-6 are launching investigation investigations. Fredricka, why is this significant. It's significant because it puts another sinister spin on what's going on here.

Were these British citizens dispatched? And perhaps maybe they were able to maneuver a little bit more easily. Were they able to acquire weapons more easily? We don't know. All we know is what British authorities were investigating here and what they continue to investigate here and that was based on information they got from Indian intelligence -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Interesting, Paula. If authorities are isolating two of these militants or possible terrorists or suspected terrorists as being British, is there a feeling of how many terrorists may have been involved in this in all and how much further they have to go before determining the nationality of the others?

NEWTON: Fredricka, you can see by the ongoing situation that we have right now, the original information that I was briefed on is really quite accurate. The point is they don't know how many militants are loose on the streets, but more importantly, they don't know how much ammunition or explosives they have on them.

I already do have reports that they have something called RDX, that's a plastic explosive. You don't really need to know the technicality of it but if it blows, it's going to cause significant damage and it could really throw off a lot of the commandos work at a lot of these locations. That might explain something that's going on.

The point here, Fredricka, highly sophisticated in terms of how they planned this. We have, of course, been told that maybe a couple of them were guests at the hotel. A couple of them may have taken jobs at the hotel.

Imagine IF you walk into a hotel like that and you're speaking with a British accent, perhaps, it obviously provides you much more cover.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Newton, pretty outstanding information. I know a lot of this is trickling in. We'll be checking back with you again momentarily.

We know as we're learning more information by the moment about what's taking place in Mumbai, we know that among those who have been wounded, British, as well as Americans there in Mumbai. CNN's State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, joins us live from Washington now. We understand as of late, Zain, that there were three of the wounded that were identified as being Americans. Has that number changed?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: No, that number has not changed. Three have been injured, but we're just receiving confirmation right now from the state department that two Americans have been killed in this attack. We don't have any more details right now about that.

This is a delicate, a sensitive and an emotional situation; the state department being careful to get all the facts straight. The families though have been notified, which is why they're making this official confirmation right now.

What the state department told me just moments ago, the issue now is just how to handle the bodies and get the remains back here to the United States.

WHITFIELD: And I realize this information is just coming in but wondering, did they give you any idea as to whether these two confirmed American deaths are that of the rabbi and his wife there at the Chabad Center, where we understand from the Israeli government that the bodies of five who were taken hostage were killed and were identified as the rabbi and his wife among them.

VERJEE: Again, because this delicate, it's sensitive and painful for so many involved here, the state department is not saying much more than that. There are many foreigners that have been in Mumbai. The state department is trying to account for all American citizens.

It could have occurred anywhere. We do not have clarification right now about the circumstances of this. I'd be very careful not to connect too many dots here right now, and just go with what we have, which is two Americans are dead. We will get information in the next 45 minutes when the state department officially releases more information.

WHITFIELD: All right, sad information. Thanks so much Zain for that update from the state department there in Washington. Much more on the siege of Mumbai, where we're getting more information about the suspected terrorists, more information about the injured and those dead.

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WHITFIELD: Just after 8:00 p.m. in Mumbai right now. We continue to watch the continuing standoff at the Taj Hotel. Mumbai police tell us at least that one militant is still holed up in that hotel. Our crew outside the hotel, they're still hearing intermittent explosions and gunfire.

And new developments now at this hour at the nearby Jewish center; we're hearing reports that five hostages are dead.

And this news just in from the U.S. State department now; they're saying that two Americans have been killed in the attacks in Mumbai, but details of the two still unclear, and exactly where they may have been killed, that, too, still unclear. We'll update you on the latest information as soon as we get it.

Meantime, I've been talking about the Taj Mahal Hotel where it is still very much an active scene; explosions and gunfire still being heard. Our Sara Sidner has been spending a lot of time in the last 48 hours outside that location. Nightfall now -- but you've moved your location for safety reasons. We're glad to see that. What are you hearing and experiencing now?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have been a series of what sound like explosions inside of the Taj Hotel in very much the same place we've been showing you throughout the day, the first floor of this hotel, on the side of the hotel, the right side of the hotel, there are several windows; it sort of looks like a bay window that is sort of blown out. We've seen some more action.

I'm going to move out of the way just a bit Fredricka and let you see again that area. That seems to be where a lot of this chaos seems to be going on inside of the Taj Hotel. Journalists are still here.

The general public has pretty much moved out for most of this day. This has been a very ruckus, a very loud, a very trying day for those of course inside. And frankly, for those who are covering it because you're never quite sure what's going the happen from one hour to the next.

It can be dead silent for quite some time and then suddenly you get several loud bursts, and I mean loud enough to make you duck fast. We do know that apparently one journalist has been hit with some shrapnel possibly and taken away in an ambulance. So there has been some injuries here over throughout the day.

But right now, just a few minutes ago there was some loud bangs and then now it's quiet yet again. So a situation that changes, but still stays the same I guess you can say; lots of explosions and then quiet -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Sarah, why is it believed there's just one terrorist still in the building? That is a huge facility, a huge building there. And I don't know and I don't know if you know how many commandos, law enforcement may be in that building trying to sanitize each floor, each room.

SIDNER: No, we don't know the numbers, and that's one thing they've been very hush-hush about. No numbers not even of the possible guests that are inside or possible hostages that might be inside and certainly not the number of people, the commandos who are inside. But we can say that we've seen more go in through out this day, crouched down low, going in fast with their guns at the ready.

So there has been a lot of action here at the Taj. But right now we're sort of in one of those lulls, but we expect to hear much more going on. This is definitely a very active scene -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Sara Sidner outside the Taj Mahal Hotel there, still unclear how many people may be inside, including hotel guests, including terrorists, including law enforcement as well.

Overall it's been two days of terror in Mumbai. And things, as you see, are changing by the minute. We're there live covering it all for you. We'll bring you more right after this.

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WHITFIELD: New information just coming in to CNN from the U.S. State department. Two Americans have been killed in the attacks in Mumbai. We're also now hearing an update from the Israeli Government saying that five hostages have been found dead at the Jewish center. Indian commandos stormed the center earlier this morning.

We're covering all of it for you live in the next hour of the "NEWSROOM" and all day long right here on CNN.

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