Forums / Strategies, Tactics & Training / Mumbai Attack Reconstruction

Thanks for sharing, very interesting.

of a dastardly attack on innocent civilians. Good job, Jedburgh.

the depth and committment of the terrorists,the attack on civillians is reprehensible though,fortunately they are being rousted,albiet slowly.

But what was the initiation device used for the IEDs? I saw RDX-type, but were they all mechanical timers or were any of them RF detonated? There are good lessons that can be learned here, as I think a high-profile assault like this is imminent in this country. Perhaps not quite on this scale, but with the speed at which cell phone videos can become nationwide, a few three-man teams staging simultaneous assaults in malls or schools at the same time in different cities would result in a tremendous feeling of fear and uncertainty in the entire nation.

Obviously, lessons learned in how an attack of this type could be prevented fall primarily to intelligence assets. Regular joes can help by being more aware of their surroundings and by reporting suspicious activity, but with the open, integrated society we have, trying to determine who is a potential scout and who is a foreign tourist can be difficult, and they know this

A huge lesson here is that regular people with the training, mindset, and weapons can do a lot to minimze the real impact an attack like this can have. Even police first responders can take a few minutes to arrive on scene. While trying to use a Glock with 33 rounds total in a counter assault against five or six guys armed with AKs may not be the best idea, it can be used to help you evac people in your immediate area to minimze casualties. Here's something I do when I am out, something I read about that I would invite everyone else to try. Whenever you are out and about, like at Wal-Mart, when the significant other is looking at Crocs or comparing paper towels or whatever, wargame to yourself. If you heard gunshots coming from the front door area, where would you move to? What if the shots are coming from the front registers and the auto center? Always have a plan that includes two avenues of escape.

Another good lesson is for law enforcement agencies and even individual officers. Agencies should utilize as much time and resources as feasible to improve training for first responders in active shooter scenarios. Patrol officers should spend more time doing walking/presence patrols in local schools and shopping centers. Not only does the presence of the police deter regular criminals, but it can be a factor in whether that particular facility is chosen as an assault site. There is also the fact that people may see something suspicious that they may not think is important enough to call, but an officer nearby is easier to approach without feeling like a paranoid kook.

didn't find anything on RF,did find out that the gunmens blood tests showed cocaine and LSD,and steroids,not sure if it was in all the gunmens blood or just some of them.

would be a smart idea, since they didn't need to worry about anything other than mayhem, death, and destruction.

There is no mention of the teams being controlled and coordinated by an outside party. All I saw was the cell phone on the gear list. It is my understanding from attending several briefs about this attack was that the terrorist operators were controlled and coordinated via cell phone as the controller watched the TV coverage.

To me that is one of the biggest issues.