27 Nov 2008

78 killed in Mumbai attacks

1:13 pm on 27 November 2008

Seventy eight were killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks targeting foreigners in the Indian city of Mumbai on Wednesday night.

The Press Trust of India says a group calling itself the "Deccan Mujahedeen" has claimed responsibility for the assaults on the Taj Palace and Oberoi Trident hotels and a number of killings elsewhere.

Maharashtra state chief secretary Johnny Joseph said 78 people had been killed. Estimates of the number of wounded people ranged from 200 to 350.

State police chief A.N. Roy told the NDTV channel that "unknown terrorists" opened fire in "at least seven to eight places" across the city.

Police say four gunmen have been killed and nine arrested.

However, Maharashtra state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the situation is not yet contained.

The BBC reports the situation is still confused, but commandos have surrounded the Taj Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages.

The upper floors of the Taj are engulfed in flames. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.

One of those killed during the operation was Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare.

Other sites

Mumbai railway police commissioner A.K. Sharma said several men armed with AK-47 rifles had stormed into the passenger hall of the main railway station, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and opened fire and thrown grenades.

At least 10 people were killed in the attack shortly after 10:30pm local time.

Elsewhere, firing was also reported at Cama Hospital in the south of the city.

Three people were also reported killed in what police called a "bomb blast" in a taxi in the southeast.

Top hotel

The Taj is one of the world's leading hotels and is regularly used by visiting dignitaries and rich guests.

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.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks, which Interior Minister Shivraj Patil described as a "big conspiracy."

A witness at the Taj Hotel has told Indian television that the gunmen were looking for holders of British and American passports.

He told the NDTV news channel: "They wanted foreigners."

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says there are 47 New Zealanders registered as being in Mumbai and the High Commission in New Delhi is seeking information on any New Zealanders who may be in the area.

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.