In Pictures: Reflecting on Mumbai attacks

Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the co-ordinated attacks on Mumbai, India’s financial capital, that left 166 people dead and a nation of more than a billion people shaken.

On November 26, 2008, a group of heavily-armed men had stealthily come ashore on a boat – India says from Pakistan across the Arabian Sea – to launch the most audacious attack till date on the country. 

To many, 26/11 was India’s equivalent to the September 11 attacks on the Unted States.

As the armed men spread across to different parts of the bustling city to attack several iconic locations simultaneously, India found itself under siege.

Millions watched in shock, disbelief and horror as the mayhem unfolded on live TV.

Bloody standoffs ensued between security forces and the attackers at the seafront Taj Hotel and at the Chabad House, a Jewish centre in the upscale Colaba neighbourhood. 

It was only after three days that the last of the stubborn attackers were eliminated and the gunfights ended.

But five years on, memories of the attack remain fresh in the country’s collective conscience.

Al Jazeera spoke to a cross-section of people who were impacted by the tragedy. Some have moved on stoically, but others continue to suffer – struggling to cope with their loss.