WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
Mumbai gunmen battle not over yet, foreigners held hostage
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-27 11:45 MUMBAI -- Gunfire rang out as commandos and police laid siege to gunmen holding foreigners hostage in two of India's plushest hotels in the country's commercial capital on Thursday, after attacks that killed at least 86 people dead.
Scores of tourists remained trapped in the Taj Mahal hotel, a 105-year-old city landmark, and the five-star Trident Oberoi in Mumbai's downtown peninsula, its financial and tourist heart. Small groups of militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades burst into luxury hotels, a hospital and a railway station late on Wednesday, as well as an iconic cafe popular with foreign tourists, firing indiscriminately and tossing grenades. They appeared to target British and Americans as they sought hostages before settling in for a prolonged siege. "There are many people trapped inside the two hotels it seems, and we are hearing reports of constant gunfire, mostly from the Taj hotel," a duty officer at the Mumbai police control room said. Police said they had shot dead four gunmen and arrested nine suspects. They said 12 policemen were killed, including Hemant Karkare, the chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai. As dawn broke on the red, white and grey brick facade of the Taj on Mumbai's waterfront, the hotel was surrounded by armed police, ambulances and fire engines, with intermittent firing heard, and flames and smoke still escaping from the roof. At least two guests, trapped in their rooms in the Taj, phoned TV stations. One said the firedoors were locked, another said he had seen two dead bodies by the swimming pool. "Two of my colleagues are still in there and the last we heard from them was three hours ago and then the phone battery died," said a German national who escaped the Taj. "We don't know where they are." India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also suspected Hindu extremists of carrying out some bombings. The latest attacks came amid a slew of state elections, including in Kashmir, and could be an embarrassment for the ruling Congress party ahead of national elections next year, as well as potentially destabilising for the country. "The fact that they were trying to segregate British and American passport holders, definitely suggests Islamist fervour," said strategic expert Uday Bhaskar. "This has very, very grave implications for India's own domestic socio-economic harmony and this is a very serious turn of events." In Mumbai, officials admitted the battle was not yet over. "The situation is still not under control and we are trying to flush out any more terrorists hiding inside the two hotels," said Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra state chief minister. A Maharashtra state official later told CNN that police had brought the situation under control. |