WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Gunmen kill at least 104 in attacks across Mumbai
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-27 20:13

MUMBAI, India — Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing at least 104 people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

A policeman stands guard after shootings by unidentified assailants at a railway station in Mumbai November 26, 2008. [Agencies]

Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and an unknown number of people were held hostage, said A.N. Roy, a top police official. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry said 104 people were killed and more than 300 injured.

Officials said at least 6 militants had also been killed since the overnight attacks began around 9:30 pm.

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Mid-morning Thursday, police loudspeakers declared a curfew around Mumbai's landmark Taj Mahal hotel, and black-clad commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area, apparently the beginning of an assault on gunmen who had taken hostages in the hotel.

Ambulances were seen driving up to the entrance to the hotel and journalists were made to move even further back from the area.

A series of explosions had rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning.

The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans at the hotels and restaurant, witnesses said. Officials said at least 120 people were wounded.

Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the upscale Oberoi hotel, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands.

"They were talking about British and Americans specifically. There was an Italian guy, who, you know, they said: 'Where are you from?" and he said he's from Italy and they said 'fine' and they left him alone. And I thought: 'Fine, they're going to shoot me if they ask me anything — and thank God they didn't," he said.

Onlookers stand at the site of a bomb blast in Mumbai November 26, 2008. A witness told Indian television that gunmen in India's financial hub of Mumbai looked for British and U.S. passport holders. [Agencies]

Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.

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