Nation will remember: Rajnath Singh pays tribute to 26/11 attacks' victims

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday paid tributes to all those who lost their lives in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the carnage.

In a post on X, the Defence Minister said that the country will always remember the sacrifice of security forces who made supreme sacrifice during the attack.

"My heartfelt tributes to the victims of the 26/11 #MumbaiTerrorAttacks. The nation will always remember the sacrifice of those security personnel who gave their lives in the line of duty," Singh said.

A group of heavily armed terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba unleashed mayhem in the country's commercial capital on the night of 26/11, 15 years ago, spraying bullets on unarmed civilians at multiple key public installations in the city.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and the Nariman House Jewish community centre, now renamed Nariman Light House, were some of the places targeted by the terrorists.

The attacks left over 166 dead, including foreigners, and over 300 injured. While one of the terrorists, Ajmal Amir Qasab, was captured alive, the others were taken out in the final stages of the siege over four days.

In May 2010, Qasab was sentenced to death and was hanged in a maximum security prison in Pune city two years later.

The Congress Party also paid tribute to the victims of the attack.

Taking to X, the party said that it has always stood strong in the face of enemies.

"We pay our humble tributes to all the martyrs and victims of the gruesome 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, which shook the whole nation in 2008. We've always stood strong in the face of enemies, and we pledge to fight all forms of terror and threats directed at our nation," the Congress said.

Aam Adami Party National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also took to X to pay tribute to the security personnel who lost their life in the line of duty.

"Today is the anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, I pay tribute to those who lost their lives in those tragic attacks and salute the courage and sacrifice of those brave soldiers of the country who risked their lives to protect the country," Kejriwal said.