30 die in sectarian battleground pyre

Armed attackers have forced villagers to huddle together then set fire to their homes in India, killing at least 30 people.

It is one of several attacks during widespread religious clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat - the death toll after three days of rioting in Gujarat has climbed to 281.

The attack took place in Pandarvada village, 30 miles from Godhra, the town where a Muslim fire attack on a train that killed 58 people, mostly Hindus, set off the religious strife on Wednesday.

It is not known immediately which religion the attackers or the victims belonged. Earlier a mob of Indian Hindus set fire to a Muslim shantytown, killing 52 Muslims as they slept.

After 27 bodies were pulled from the ashes, another 25 people died in the hospital, leaving 17 with serious burn injuries. Gangs blockaded roads, searched cars for Muslims, and set fire to shops and homes.

The death toll rose when four more bodies, two of them teenage boys, were discovered in the ashes of a burned shed where seven bodies had been recovered earlier. Police said it appeared the shed had been set on fire after the 11 people crowded into it to hide.

The Gujarat state government has ordered police to shoot rioters and arsonists on sight after Muslims and Hindus began tossing homemade bombs at one another near a mosque in the suburb of Bapunagar.

Nine people have been shot dead by police. The state said 900 soldiers were patrolling the city of 3.5 million.

Hindu nationalists affiliated with the party that governs Gujarat and India called a nationwide strike to protest at the burning of a train on Wednesday by a Muslim mob that killed 58 people, mostly Hindus.

There were 14 children among the dead in the train fire and 42 were injured, with 20 requiring hospitalisation for burns or smoke inhalation. Police said 63 people had been arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder for the train attack in the small town of Godhra.