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Australia offers counter-terror,
as one Australian killed in Mumbai
By
Neena Bhandari
Sydney,
Nov 27 (IANS) At least one Australian national was killed
and three injured after terrorists Wednesday night wreaked
havoc in south Mumbai, killing at least 101 people and injuring
250.
A
49-year-old Australian, Braid Gilbert Taylor, has been confirmed
dead and there are unconfirmed reports of another Australian
killed.
Describing
the attacks as "murderous", Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd said Australia was ready to help India in every possible
way.
"We
stand ready to assist India in any way it needs right now.
We are offering through the Australian Federal Police, assistance
with counter-terrorism, and forensics policing, to the Indian
authorities, and any other assistance which may be of direct
relevance at this time," Rudd told Australian parliament
Thursday.
"Whichever
group has perpetrated this attack, they are cowards, absolute
cowards, and murderers. This cowardly attack on India's stability,
peace and democracy reminds us all that international terrorism
is far from defeated, and that we must all maintain our vigilance,"
Rudd said.
The
Prime Minister also warned that there could be more Australian
casualties.
A
24-year-old Sydney student, Katie Anstee, has undergone surgery
after a bullet shattered her femur bone as she dined with
her boyfriend, David Coker, who suffered minor bullet and
shrapnel wounds, at cafй Leopold of Australian writer Gregory
David Roberts' of 'Shantaram' fame.
Coker's
father was quoted in the local media as saying: "He lay
on top of her until the shooting stopped and then picked her
up and carried her outside and saw a gunman about 15 metres
away and said he'll never forget the look - (he) looked at
him and (the gunman) looked at Coker and he said 'he didn't
shoot me dad'."
Australian
Steve Smith told Channel Seven that he saw two gunmen toss
grenades into a restaurant at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel,
where he was having a beer just hours earlier.
"Then
they opened fire for about 10 minutes with AK-47s (semi-automatic
assault rifles)," Smith told the Seven Network.
Meanwhile,
one member of a 12-person New South Wales state government
trade mission, who had been staying at the Oberoi Trident
hotel, remains unaccounted for.
Acting
Foreign Minister Simon Crean told reporters, "The Australian
Government unreservedly condemns this indiscriminate and cowardly
terrorist set of acts... We, of course, express our deepest
sympathy and condolences to the victims and to their families,
and we also express our fundamental solidarity with the Indian
Government and its people. This is an appalling assault on
the people, and the stability and the democracy of India".
In
India, there are about 2,100 Australians and 300 are said
to be in Mumbai.
The
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has reissued
the travel advisory Thursday evening urging Australians to
"reconsider your need to travel to India" and "avoid
travel to Mumbai at this time".
Opposition
Leader Malcolm Turnbull told the local media, "[India]
is a very successful economy and to see these criminals trying
to disrupt that in a mad destructive way is tragic and our
hearts go out to the people of Mumbai, to all of the people
who have been hurt, to the Australians who were there but
also to the whole of India".
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