The terrorist attacks in Mumbai continue on. Five hostages have been found dead at the Jewish center. Indian Security says there are 1/2 a dozen terrorists inside the Taj, with new explosions late in the day Friday (local time).

Indian Officials believe the terrorists did dry runs. From the Hindu Times: Lashkar tested sea route to Mumbai in 2007 dry run.

MUMBAI: Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders had used a commercial fishing boat to send a fidayeen squad to Mumbai in 2007. Investigators now believe it was a dress rehearsal for the latest terror attacks.

…Maharashtra Police investigators believe that Lashkar commanders carried out the operation to test the reliability of the Karachi-Mumbai sea route.

The Times of India reports that at least 146 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since dozens of terrorists sailed into Mumbai on boats Wednesday. This is the first time terrorists have made a water borne attack for a major operation (except for in Sri Lanka, I believe). The mother-ship/inflatable dinghy concept is similar to the tactic currently being used by Somali pirates.

From The Guardian:

At least some of the terrorists, said to be in their early twenties and armed with AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades, landed on the coast of Mumbai's commercial and entertainment neighbourhood in light and fast Gemini boats, powered by small outboard motors.

These inflatable dinghies, according to Indian navy sources quoted by the Headlines Today TV news channel, were launched from a larger vessel, the MV Alfa, which arrived near Mumbai sometime yesterday and anchored offshore a distance from India's financial capital.

But back to the dry runs. That these terrorists did dress rehearsals comes as no surprise — they always do. But the aspect of pre-planning, "reccky" as the British call it, is particularly chilling. The 9/11 Commission Report chose to footnote and not highlight the 33 test runs conducted by Mohammed Atta and other hijacker pilots in the months leading up to America's worst terrorist attacks, largely because its underscores how terrorists conduct their surveillence operations right under law-enforcement's nose. From CNN:

They fired at guests "with no remorse" and knew the layout of the hotels well enough to "vanish" after confronting security forces, the commando said. 

The Press Trust of India, citing Union Cabinet Minister Kapil Sibal, reported the gunmen had worked for months to prepare, even setting up "control rooms" in the two luxury hotels that were targeted.

Terrorists also always have cover stories until they arrive at ground zero. In this account from Indian TV, an eyewitness explains how at least some of the terrorists in Mumbai said they were "students."

Indian TV news channels provided eyewitness accounts from people who saw the armed attackers land in Mumbai.

"It was around 9.15 last night when I saw a speedboat with eight men on board come close to the shore," a man told Times Now TV today.

"Six young men with large bags came ashore, after which the two who remained in the boat started the outboard motor again and sped off," he added. "They were fair, chikna (well-off) and looked around 20, 22, 25 years old. They said they were students. When we tried to find out what they were doing, they spoke very aggressively, and I got scared."

Two boys and an older woman from the same neighbourhood spoke to CNN-IBN. "When we tried to talk to them, they rudely said, 'What do you want? Do your own work', and walked away," the two boys said. "They were carrying large bags – one bag was orange coloured."

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