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2008 Mumbai attacks

Islamist terror attacks in India

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ76421
Source-derived summary

The 2008 Mumbai attacks, colloquially known as 26/11, were a coordinated series of twelve Islamic terrorist attacks carried out in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, from 26 to 29 November 2008, by ten members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, and more than 300 were injured.

The attackers arrived in Mumbai via the Arabian Sea. They had departed from Karachi on a Pakistani cargo vessel, hijacked an Indian fishing trawler on the way, and ended their journey to South Mumbai's coastline on inflatable boats. Eight of the attacks were mass shootings in South Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Trident Hotel, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, Nariman House, Metro Big Cinemas, and in a lane behind St. Xavier's College and the headquarters of The Times of India. In addition to the mass shootings, an explosion occurred at Mazagaon, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle. By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Hotel had been secured by the Mumbai Police and security forces. On 29 November, India's National Security Guards conducted Operation Black Tornado to flush out the remaining terrorists; it culminated in the death of the last remaining terrorists at the Taj Hotel and ended the attacks.

Before his execution in 2012, Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving attacker captured by the Mumbai Police, stated and confessed that the terrorists were members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and were controlled from Pakistan, corroborating initial claims from the Indian government.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “2008 Mumbai attacks” is islamist terror attacks in India. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Mumbai, attacks and Islamist, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 2012—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Mumbai, attacks and Islamist is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “islamist terror attacks in India” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q76421. The Library of Congress control number is sh2008030169. Authority coordinates are 18.922, 72.833. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 2012.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “2008 Mumbai attacks”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 2008 Mumbai attacks primary sources, 2008 Mumbai attacks archive and Mumbai research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2008 Mumbai attacks”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from 2008 Mumbai attacks” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.