US-ROOM 2LST

Using the alias Wassi, Mir oversaw the assault on the
Taj hotel, the prime target, where 32 people died.
The phone handlers in Pakistan made the attack
interactive, relaying reports about television coverage to the
gunmen and even searching the Internet for the name of a
banker they had taken hostage.
After killing 10 people at the historic Leopold Cafe,
a second assault team joined the two gunmen at the Taj, it
said.
"They wanted to see the Taj Mahal burn," a senior US
law enforcement official was quoted as saying.
"It was all choreographed with the media in mind," the
official said.
Mir chided a gunman who grew distracted by the
luxuries of a suite instead of setting the hotel ablaze,
according to one intercepted call, the report said.
"We can't watch if there aren't any flames," said Mir,
who was viewing the action on live television.
"Where are they?" "It's amazing," the gunman
exclaimed. The windows are huge. It's got two kitchens, a bath
and a little shop."
"Start the fire, my brother," Mir insisted.
"Start a proper fire, that's the important thing," Mir
was quoted as saying according to the investigative report.
At the nearby Oberoi Hotel, two attackers hunted
Americans and Britons, demanding passports at gunpoint,
according to US investigators, it said.
"The gunmen killed 33 people at the Oberoi, then took
refuge in Room 1856.
"Their handlers instructed them to divide ammunition
magazines and keep their weapons on burst mode to conserve
bullets.
"After one gunman was killed, Mir encouraged the other
to go out in a blaze of glory," the report said.
"For your mission to end successfully, you must be
killed," Mir said in one of the intercepted calls.
"God is waiting for you in heaven... Fight bravely,
and put your phone in your pocket, but leave it on. We like to
know what's going on," Mir was quoted as saying. PTI LKJ
HMI


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