Suspected Islamist gunmen launched waves of attacks in the heart of India's financial capital, killing at least 101 people and taking many foreigners hostage in two of the city's plushest hotels, police said on Thursday.
Maharashtra state police chief A N Roy said Indian security forces have regained control of one of the hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace, where scores of tourists earlier had been trapped in the 105-year-old city landmark.
Hostages were still thought to be held in the five-star Oberoi in Mumbai's downtown peninsula, the city's financial and tourist heart, officials said.
At least 101 people were killed, including six foreigners, police said. Another 287 people were wounded in the attacks, which were claimed by the little-known Deccan Mujahideen group.
Two of the foreigners confirmed dead are an Australian person and a Japanese man. Eleven foreigners known to have been wounded include people from Australia, the United States, Spain, Norway, Canada and Singapore, as well as seven British citizens.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says there have been no reports of injuries to any of the 47 New Zealanders known to be in Mumbai, and condemned the attacks as cowardly. New Zealanders have been advised against all tourist and non-essential travel to the city.
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, formerly known as Bombay.
One militant inside the Oberoi told Indian television by phone that the hostages would only be freed when all mujahideens, or Islamic holy warriors, being held in Indian jails were freed.
Small groups of militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades burst into the luxury hotels, a hospital and a railway station on Wednesday night, as well as a famous cafe popular with foreign tourists, firing indiscriminately and tossing grenades.
The attackers appeared to target British and Americans as they sought hostages. Hotel staff were seen evacuating wounded on luggage trolleys, with passers-by covered in blood after they rushed to help. Some clambered down ladders to safety.
Other distressed guests stood at hotel windows, although a slow trickle could later be seen leaving the Taj Mahal Palace through a back gate, surrounded by heavily armed troops and police.
The attacks could be another blow for the Congress Party-led government ahead of a general election due by early 2009.
The government has suffered a string of state election losses in the last year. The main Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has done well in state polls, has criticised the government for being soft on terrorism after a series of bomb attacks in Indian cities this year.
Lucky escape for NZ consul
The Taj Mahal Palace is one of the world's leading hotels and is regularly used by visiting dignitaries and wealthy guests.
The Honorary Consul for New Zealand in Mumbai, Pradip Madhavji, had attended a dinner party at the hotel and left about 9.30pm, just before gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades stormed the lobby.
Mr Madhavj says he learned of the attacks on television when he arrived home and could not believe his lucky escape.
The head of the Madrid government and a British member of the European Parliament were inside when the gunmen stormed the building, but escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, the family of a New Zealand couple holed up in the Oberoi hotel say they are safe and well. David and Vinka Clemmett had been on holiday in Mumbai before being caught up in the attacks.
Mr Clemmett's sister, Christine Lawrence, says the couple are in good spirits but obviously concerned about the situation. She says Mr Clemmetts told her they are not being threatened by the attackers.
Previous attacks
A series of attacks in Mumbai on 11 July 2006 killed almost 190 people and wounded more than 700. Bombs were detonated on commuter trains during rush hour.
There were two previous bomb attacks in Mumbai in 2003. A bomb on a commuter train killed 11 people on 13 March, and two car bombs killed about 60 people on 25 August that year.
A series of blasts in markets in the capital of India, New Delhi, on 13 September left more than 20 dead.
