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November 30, 2008 (LPAC)--As reported by the Hindu and by other news outlets internationally, including CNN, there were very specific intelligence warnings of an imminent attack on Mumbai. As a result, security was increased in the city at the targeted hotels. Nonetheless, this security was taken down one week before the attack, even as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard were conducting a hunt for the terrorists en route to Mumbai, on the basis of an intercepted telephone call to the Lashkar-e-Taiba's main military commander for operations against India.

The Hindu reports from a highly-placed government source that India's intelligence services had delivered at least three precise warnings that a major terrorist attack on Mumbai was imminent.

On Nov. 18, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intercepted a satellite phone conversation, in which a so-far unidentified caller notified his handlers that he was heading for Mumbai along with a certain cargo. Analysts determined the call was made to a Lahore phone number known to be used by the Lashkar-e-Taiba's main military commander for operations targeting India, who is known only by the code-names 'Muzammil' and 'Abu Hurrera.' Mumbai police investigators have determined that the call was made from a satellite phone that was eventually found abandoned on the fishing boat hijacked by the terrorists. The satellite phone also contains records of several other calls to Lashkar handlers in Pakistan.

A full-scale hunt for the ship on which the terrorists had sailed from Karachi was led by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Based on testimony of arrested Lashkar terrorist Ajmal Amir Kamal, investigators believe the terrorists hijacked the fishing boat to avoid detection.

In late September, Intelligence Bureau informants had issued alerts warning that a Lashkar unit was preparing to target the Taj Mahal Hotel. According to the sources, the warning was built on the testimony of arrested Mumbai-based terrorist Fahim Ansari, who told investigators in March that he had carried out reconnaissance operations at the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Gateway of India area and the Oberoi Hotel, in preparation for an attack.

RAW, too according to the Hindu, issued warnings that the Lashkar was planning to hit one ore more hotels in Mumbai's northern suburbs, including the Leela Kempinski.

CNN Late Edition reported today that the U.S. had intercepted information in September, which it communicated to Indian officials, that suggested that hotels in Mumbai could be targeted and that there was a possibility of an attack by sea. Also, in the Indian city of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, Indian authorities arested two people that again suggested that hotels in Mumbai could be targeted.

Police sources said these intelligence warnings had led them to deploy personnel near major hotels in Mumbai, and hold meetings with hotel security heads. Parking instructions were introduced at the Oberoi Hotel and circulars were issued to local businesses asking them to observe special security precautions.

However, the tight security restrictions were lifted a week before the attacks, allegedly after businesses and residents complained of inconvenience. A police source said, "We also removed the additional security because our manpower was stretched to the limit and the personnel we had did not, in any case, have the specially-trained personnel needed to avert a suicide-squad attack."

According to CNN, Taj Mahal hotel chairman Ratan Tata confirms that they increased security for two months after being warned of a possible terrorist attack, but the measures were taken down only just last week shortly before the attack. Tata said, "People couldn't park their cars in the portico, where you had to go through a metal detector." But Tata argued that even if the security measures had not been taken down, it would not have made a difference. He said the attackers did not enter through the entrance where the metal detector had been located. Instead they came in a back entrance. "They knew what they were doing and they did not go through the front. All of our arrangements are in front. "They planned everything. I believe the first thing they did, they shot a sniffer dog and his handler. They went through the kitchen."

A guest in the Taj reported to the Hindu on Friday that he had noticed tight security at the hotel when he stayed there last month. However, for this latest trip, he said, he could walk right into the hotel without encountering the same measures.