Commandos raid hotels as death toll reaches 119
About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish centre, a top Indian general said.
The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, said Maj Gen RK Hooda.
Authorities said 119 died and 288 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly co-ordinated attack against 10 sites in the city on Wednesday night.
Officials said eight militants were also killed.
Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish centre, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said.
While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day, witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege showed little sign of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.
The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside the hotels, witnesses said.
Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for authorities to get them to safety.
After dusk yesterday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one of the city’s best-known five-star hotels.
One man, who identified himself as a Pole, but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.
The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were trapped inside.
Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.
A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India’s image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity.
Among the dead were at least four Australians and a Japanese national, according to the state home ministry.
An Italian, a Briton and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.
The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favourite watering hole of the city’s elite.
Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel yesterday afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from the building.
The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the hotel on Wednesday night and opened fire indiscriminately.
The gunmen also seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group, Chabad Lubavitch. Among foreigners still held captive in all three buildings were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, Israelis and a Singaporean.
The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim.
Meanwhile, a crisis centre for Irish citizens has been set up in Mumbai. Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin condemned the killings. The Department of Foreign Affairs said no Irish casualties have been reported and there are no indications Irish citizens were among those kidnapped.
Foreign Affairs officials are in direct contact with Irish citizens in Mumbai. They have offered consular assistance, and diplomatic staff from the Irish Embassy in New Delhi are being sent to set up the crisis centre at the honorary consulate.
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