Watch: First pictures of terrorists

Take a look at the first pictures of terrorists. These terrorists are seen armed with AK-47s were captured by security video cameras as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

We are behind attacks: Deccan Mujahideen

A group calling itself the 'Deccan Mujahedeen' claimed responsibility for attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 100 people, and injured many. The outfit sent emails to various media outlets saying it carried out the attacks across the city.

Maharashtra govt announces compensation to the kin of terror victims

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy CM R R Patil on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured in the serial terror attacks in the city.

For policemen who sacrificed their lives in their fight with terrorists, there are different norms of compensation, Patil said, after visiting the injured at the G T Hospital in south Mumbai.

India has lost great officials like Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief Hemant Karkare and others, he said.

This terror act is an attack on the entire nation and it is the time to work together as Indians against the terrorists, he said.

Navy helicopters chase terror ship

02:54 PM: Grenade blast has been reported from Nariman House in south Mumbai, where six terrorists are holed up. One terrorist had been gunned down earlier.

02:33 PM: Navy helicopters are chasing a Vietnamese registered ship, MV Alpha, which is believed to have dropped terrorists near Bombay. Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta is closely monitoring the situation.

02:10 PM: Our correspondent Krishnakumar K reports that the first 4 floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel have been sanitised. Forty bodies have been recovered so far. NSG sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the final assault.

01:50 PM: Director General of Police A N Roy says all people trapped inside Taj Hotel have been rescued and the hostage situation is over. "No negotiations with the terrorists. Either we will kill them or nab them alive," says Roy. Meanwhile, an National Security Guard spokesman says 200 more NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai.

01:13 PM: Trident Hotel (formerly Oberoi), has said that it is under the control of police and security forces, and they are monitoring the situation in wake of the terrorist strike.

01:23 PM: Handgrenades lobbed from Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai where terrorists are holed up.

12:42 PM: Police say one terrorist holed up inside Nariman House has been killed. Six more terrorists are suspected to be hiding inside the building.

12:14 PM: At least four terrorists are holed up in the Taj Hotel where 40 to 50 guests were still trapped, says Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa [Images] and Gujarat. Two bodies have been brought out of the Taj Hotel and taken away in an ambulance.

11:25 AM: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil has said that there can be 10 to 12 terrorists involved in the terror attack inside Taj Hotel. Five of them have been killed and one of them arrested, he told media persons outside the hotel as security forces prepared to launch an assault to end the terror.

11:09 AM: Latest reports say that the Navy and Army have taken control at Oberoi. Meanwhile, a child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid have been seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai. Reports also say that US intelligence officials are among the foreigners killed at Taj Hotel.

10:57 AM: Fire brigade personnel have started rescuing people from Taj Hotel. Top French Nuclear physicist has also been rescued from the hotel.

10:40 AM: Smoke has been seen billowing from the new building of the Taj Hotel -- which stands next to the old building where terrorists are holed up. While NSG operation was on in the old building, fire brigade personnel were trying to douse fire in the new wing.

10:30 AM: The number of policemen killed has gone up to 16. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] will address the nation after 7 PM after the Cabinet meeting. The Maharashtra state Cabinet will meet at 2 PM.

09:30 AM: Terrorist out in the open! A terrorist holed up inside Nariman House jumps to the adjacent building. Meanwhile, an emergency Cabinet meeting has been called at 1100 hours.

09:27 AM: IB has arrested a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist of Pakistani origin from Mumbai. The e-mail sent after terror attacks has been traced to Russia [Images]. Authorities say the mail was sent by Lashkar operatives. They also believe that the Lashkar terrorists came directly from Karachi to Mumbai.

09:30 AM: Firing has been heard near Nariman House in Colaba. Police have cordoned off the area amid reports that terrorists are holed up in the building.

09:09 AM: Curfew has been clamped in Colaba after firing intensified in the Taj hotel. Police are using smoke cannisters to disable terrorists' vision. Meanwhile, Hostages are being evacuated from the Taj hotel even as gunbattle rages. A journalist has been injured in the firing. All international flights from Mumbai have been cancelled.

08:55 AM: Agencies have reported that terrorists are holed up inside the Cama Hospital. Commandoes have started firing at terrorists.

08:05 AM: Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandos moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.

Sharp shooters of army, NSG and other security forces moved into Mumbai's landmark hotel. Police believe that the number of holed out terrorists could be three or four.

Another luxury hotel Trident (formerly Oberoi) was under siege with some terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.

07:50 AM: More grim news is coming in from Taj Hotel, where several staff members have been feared killed in the terrorist attack.

Over 100 guests are still stuck inside the hotel, where two terrorists are reportedly holed up.

At Nariman House in Colaba, onlookers informed that the police exchanged fire about an hour ago.

The place looked like a riot-hit site, swarming with police officials and military trucks. Most people have been holed up here since an explosion shook the area at 10.30 pm.

The explosion occurred when the terrorists lobbed hand grenades at the local petrol pump. The blast was followed by a gunfight between police forces and the terrorists.

06:20 AM: The hostage crisis continued at Taj Hotel in the wee hours of Thursday as Army commandos moved in to flush out the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh assured that there was no hostage situation at Cama Hospital in South Mumbai.

An Army commando was reportedly injured in the shoot-out. An explosion was also reported in the lobby of the Taj Hotel

04:23 AM: Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports that the fire that engulfed the old wing of the Taj Mahal [Images] Hotel in Mumbai has been put out. Though the major conflagration has been contained, flames continue to flicker, occasionally leaping into life, at the corner of the heritage wing.

Police and fire brigade personnel have placed ladders against the side of the building, and are bringing hotel guests out through that means. Some foreigners who had been evacuated were being ferried to a nearby hospital for first aid, while others are being taken by bus to alternate accommodations. Officials here estimate that most of the guests inside the hotel have been evacuated.

Commandos of the Indian navy meanwhile have staked out vantage points covering all exit points, while others of their number prowl around the perimeter of the hotel.

A group of Taj employees stood clustered on the pavement opposite the hotel, staring at the hotel through tear-filled eyes. They had been told to leave, they said � but clearly, they could not bring themselves to walk away from a hotel that, to them and to most Mumbaikars, is shared heritage than mere hotel.

Elsewhere, an attractive young woman attempted to restore some semblance of order to her silver-zari sari. She was drenched, and still disoriented from her experiences of the night.

"We were partying, and suddenly there was firing all over," the woman, who had just been evacuated by ladder from a window some 30 feet up, recalled. "I'd read about such things in the paper, and routinely turned the page� but when it happens to you, when you experience it�"

03:57 AM: Though the firefight at the Oberoi is still far from finished, the takeover of the operation by units of the Indian Army [Images] appears to have taken the South Mumbai hotel off the 'critical' list.

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports for Rediff that most of the one dozen fire trucks that had been stationed around the Oberoi have been dispatched to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a blazing fire threatens to devastate the old wing of the iconic hotel.
Daniel cites police sources as saying the army commandoes are doing a systematic sweep of the hotel, lobbing grenades ahead of them to take out hidden dangers before securing each successive wing of the hotel.

The constant bang of grenades from within the hotel continues to alarm the crowds gathered outside the hotel, and kept at a distance by police. Not all of them have come to gape, however. Vadhavan, a businessman from New Delhi [Images], sits in rumpled attire on the parapet of Marine Drive, trying to stay awake.

He had arrived in Mumbai this evening at the head of a 13-member business delegation. He was in the act of checking into the Oberoi when the firing began. "I think the shooting started at the Oberoi," says Vadhavan. "They ushered us all out through a side entrance and told us to leave. I got separated from the rest of my group; I think they are waiting on the other side of the hotel."

The flushing out operation is far from finished; Vadhavan's wait threatens to extend through what remains of this night.

3:42 AM: At the Taj Hotel, where a joint operation involving the Mumbai police, the Central Reserve Police Force and a commando group from the Navy is engaged in flushing out terrorists within the premises, PTI reports that almost all the guests have been brought out to safety at the time of writing this.

The situation continues to remain dangerous, however, with an indeterminate number of terrorists within the hotel, two of whom are believed to be holding a group of tourists hostage on an upper floor.

Meanwhile, the fire that erupted in the old wing of the historic hotel has spread alarmingly. The fire now burns bright across at least two mid-level floors of the old wing, and thick clouds of black smoke spew from the signature minaret that crowns the hotel's roof.

03: 06 AM: A little over four hours since gunshots first erupted at the CST railway terminal, and coordinated terrorist attacks spread to various parts of South Bombay, the situation remains fluid.

At the Taj Mahal Hotel, a contingent of Navy commandos has joined the police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel attempting to enter the hotel and flush out the terrorists. From within the hotel, word is that occasional explosions, and sporadic gunfire, continue at the time of writing this.

At the Oberoi Hotel, the army has taken over the operation and entered the hotel; it is now reportedly engaged in flushing out the terrorists hiding within.

At the Cama Hospital, a specialty medical center for women and children, official sources say terrorists are holed up on the fourth floor and have been firing from that vantage point. Police have surrounded the hospital and are engaging the terrorists in an ongoing gun battle.

02:50 AM: Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament N N Krishnadas, who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.

Krishnadas told CNN that he is holed up in a room, and outside of the noise of explosions and gunfire has no real idea what is happening within the premises.

Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in one of the hotel's middle floors has been spreading upwards, adding a fresh hazard both to the police and CRPF personnel engaged in the anti-terrorist operation and to the guests within the hotel.

Even as police sources upped the toll in today's terrorist strikes in Mumbai at 80 and counting, police continue to lay siege to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where two terrorists are believed to be holding at least 15 guests hostage on one of the upper floors of the hotel.

The police are at this point in time unsure whether the two hostage takers are the only terrorists within the hotel.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has moved into the Oberoi and the Trident, the two other South Mumbai hotels targeted in today's terrorist strikes.

A battalion of the Indian army entered the Oberoi and began an operation against the terrorists holed up inside. The army was called in after the police took several casualties, including the deaths of some senior officers.

With the army now in charge of this phase of the operation � the first time the Indian army is operating in the city since the 1992 riots � the police has fallen back and is focusing on cordoning off the area.

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, reporting for Rediff.com from outside the Oberoi Hotel, reports that with the cordon being drawn tight, people waiting outside are in a state of panic, and desperately searching for information. A group of senior bankers from Hyderabad are among those inside the hotel to attend a conference; their Mumbai-based colleagues are outside, awaiting word of their fate.

02: 25 AM: Mumbai's Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died of bullet wounds in the ongoing battle against armed terrorists that is raging across several parts of South Mumbai.

Vijay Salaskar, an officer attached to the Mumbai police who has been famed as an 'encounter specialist', was seriously injured in the ongoing gun battle and has been rushed to hospital. In all, seven Mumbai policemen are believed killed thus far.

Meanwhile, Railway Police Chief Ashok Sharma told Rediff.com that at least 40 people were killed inside Mumbai's nodal Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. "The attack started around 9.35 pm," Sharma said. "Two terrorists were inside. We can confirm at least 40 people killed."

It is yet unclear whether the terrorists are still on-site, have left, or been killed. Sharma said there had been no firing from within the terminus for the last two hours. "Despite this, we are not allowing people to go into the station as we are worried that the terrorists might have planted bombs or left live grenades in the station," he said.

Sharma said the official belief is that the two terrorists had sneaked out of the station in the confusion following the original assault.

Sudhir Dalvi, a sub-inspector attached to the Mumbai cell of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, told Sheela Bhatt for Rediff.com that his boss, ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior police officers Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, were killed in an incident outside Mumbai's Cama Hospital.

"Our chief Karkare, my senior officer Salaskar and ACP Kamte died while engaging terrorists outside the Cama hospital," a sobbing Dalvi told Rediff.com. "All of a sudden, terrorists threw grenades at Karkare leading to chaos. We are unable to confirm whether they fell to terrorist fire or were killed by the grenades."

Meanwhile, the army has moved into the Trident Hotel, the third five-star hotel in the South Mumbai region that had been targeted in tonight's coordinated terrorist strikes.

02:10 AM: It is now believed that 15 people, at least seven of them foreigners, have been taken hostage by two terrorists and are being held on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Rakesh Patel, a London-based businessman who managed to escape, told NDTV that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape.

Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports, and said he got the clear impression that they wanted foreigners.

01:50 AM: Krishnakumar reports from the Juhu region that a bomb went off in a taxi that was speeding along the Western Express Highway from Vile Parle towards Andheri, killing two people and injuring two others.

"The taxi exploded and went up in flames as it sped past the traffic island under the flyover at the domestic airport," an eyewitness said on phone. "The vehicle, which was up in flames soon after it crossed the traffic signal, was on the left
side. A bystander and a person in the taxi were killed.

Reports indicate that this was perhaps the night's highest-intensity blast. Krishnakumar reports that the taxi's doors were found a distance of 50 meters or more away, and body parts of the victims had been thrown even further.

01:43 AM: At least two suspected terroristswere shot dead minutes earlier at the corner of Mumbai's Chowpatty. Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, who is on the site, reports that the area has been cordoned off and is swarming with police officers; the Skoda is under guard and a cellphone, a jacket, and items of footwear are strewn around the vehicle.

Meanwhile at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the standoff between police, who have surrounded the hotel, and terrorists who are holed up inside, continues.

A short while ago, power went off in parts of the hotel, adding to the sense of panic and fear. Well known food critic Sabina Sahgal Saikia, who is inside the hotel, told NDTV on phone just now that the guests are terrified, and unaware of just what is happening around them. It is unclear at this point in time whether the power has been turned off by the police as they battle the terrorists.

01:27 AM: Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel calls in from the Marine Drive region to report that the approaches to the South Mumbai area have been shut down, and that sounds of firing are audible as far away as Mumbai's famed Queen's Necklace stretch, though the source of the firing is unclear.

Meanwhile, a foreign national who managed to escape from the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a state of seige currently exists, told NDTV that armed and masked gunmen were wandering around inside the hotel, looking for people with American or British passports.

The eyewitness account appears to confirm the growing belief among law enforcement circles that this latest attack is aimed directly at foreign nationals -- hence the choice of star hotels as prime targets. They further theorize that automatic weapons are being used rather than bombs in order to orchestrate such targeted mayhem.

Meanwhile, the real dangers of the situation are being exaggerated by a proliferation of rumors. One such that has been aired on a few channels including CNN suggested that firing was taking place at the JW Marriott, another five star hotel in the Juhu region of suburban Mumbai. A source in the hotel however confirmed to Rediff just now that there was no alarm at the hotel, and no incident of any kind had taken place.

12:44 AM: A gun battle is ongoing in the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Within the last ten minutes, a guest at the hotel got word out to CNN via email that a grenade had exploded within the hotel premises just then.

Additional Commissioner of Police AN Roy and other officials confirmed that some armed terrorists are holed up in the iconic hotel.

Police officials said they have no information of a hostage situation; they say guests have been sequestered in safe areas of the hotel, and the police are now engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hiding place.

All signs of Al Qaeda inspired attack, says expert

Professor Deepa Ollapally, whose new book The Politics of Extremism in South Asia published by Cambridge University Press has just been released, has said the scale and sophistication of the Mumbai terrorist attacks leave one with the impression that it has all of the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda [Images] inspired attack, probably well-financed by outside forces.

Ollapally, professorial lecturer and associate director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, also told rediff.com that the name Deccan Mujahideen, akin to the earlier terrorist attack claimants calling themselves Indian Mujahideen [Images], was obviously a ploy to confuse people that the terrorists were indigenous and home-grown, when it was highly unlikely it was so.

"Not only is it unprecedented, but also the fact that this group apparently laying claim for this -- the Deccan Mujahideen -- is completely unknown, and so the question is, these new names are now coming up, no one really knows what the true source of these are."

Ollapally said, "It's almost as if they are playing a guessing game, and it's a pattern you've seen in other places. You've seen it, when a group is banned they come up with a different name. But, also having these different names, it creates a lot of confusion because Indian Mujahideen, Deccan Mujahideen, they are trying to associate themselves as being internal, indigenous, home-grown and all that."

"But the point is, to what extent is that really the case -- one doesn't know that," she said. "It's almost as if that is their intent, to show that it is internal when it may not be so at all."

Ollapally said, "The way in which this was carried out, it does suggest that they needed some fairly sophisticated, coordinated planning. And, if the reports are true about their rounding up Americans and British, then it sounds like there is an Al Qaeda hand possibly, which again would be the most obvious difference between every other terrorist attack that has gone on before (in India)."

"And, then the point of, what is the motive for this. It's not as if something sparked it off. It's really not clear. The question is, whether it's a new phenomenon. Is it a new strategy? What then is the objective?"

Ollapally acknowledged that "this is definitely going to hurt India -- from tourism to business. That was obviously one of the motives, but the question is the timing. Why now?"

She acknowledged, "Who knows if it had anything to do with the presidential transition here in the US? And, there are elections coming up in India also. So, that's the other thing -- whether it is to destabilise India. And, there have been criticism that the current government has not been acting swiftly and so forth," to combat the scourge of terrorism in India.

"So, they can use this for electoral reasons also," Ollapally said, "but again, all this is complete speculation."

However, she agreed that "there has been all this speculation about testing the US, the incoming administration, although this doesn't really jell. I mean, if it were the Al Qaeda and they wanted to test Obama, there are other places where they can do it that would be much more front and centre that would capture the US attention much more. So, this seems probably a little far-fetched."

Ollapally also speculated that "on the one hand, you've got the Indian foreign minister and the Pakistani foreign minister speaking and they have been making some progress and so forth, so this could be to destabilise that -- to throw these talks off."

She recalled that "when the Indian embassy in Afghanistan was bombed, the US intelligence did find the Pakistani intelligence connected. So, you cannot rule out any of these things."

"It's one thing to have summitry between India and Pakistan, but the point is, unless Pakistan really cracks down on the groups that operate there -- and that requires almost a mini internal war on terrorism -- this is not going to stop."

Ollapally said the Pakistanis evidently don't want to do this "and part of the reason is, of course, it's an instrument that they still need to hold on to."

She said, "This difference about this to me is that fact that they've arrested some people. This is the first time really that they've been able to get the suspects on the spot. Earlier, they had never been able to get the suspects on the spot. So, the question is, whether they'll be able to have some better information because of that -- one would assume so."

Ollapally argued that the simple notion that this was a case of disaffected youth carrying this out seemed highly unlikely. "There are disaffected youth in a lot of places. But, to go from disaffection to action is something different -- it's a giant leap."

"So, you can't simply say that there's a huge amount of disaffected youth and, therefore, they carried it out," was a stretch. "I think you need that intervening critical variable and so this is usually some other organisation or group that has much more resources and the skill to implement this thing."

Ollapally said this is why she strong believes that "this particular attacks would be some small group that came out of nowhere and calling themselves the Deccan Mujahideen. Somehow, that's really out of character with everything in the past, if you see the way in which these things (most other recent terrorist attacks) have happened in India -- at least of this scale and sophistication."

Ollapally said it is imperative "to get to the root of some of these things, because otherwise this is not going to go away. This is a nightmare -- a huge problem, and with all of the implications that come with it."

Security forces launch final assault on Taj

Asif Shaikh in Mumbai

All hostages at Taj Hotel in Mumbai have been rescued, but there could be some still trapped at Trident hotel and Nariman House where operations were on to flush out terrorists, Maharashtra police chief A N Roy said on Thursday, ruling out any negotiations with the terrorists.

Meanwhile, rediff.com correspondent Krishnakumar P reported that the first 4 floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel had been sanitised. Forty bodies have been recovered so far. According to latest reports, shots were heard from the 6^th floor.

NSG sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the attack.

Attackers were looking for British, Americans, says witness

Giving details of the terror attacks which began Wednesday night, Roy said terrorists struck in quick succession and in all there was shooting in 12 places.

The Director General of Police made it clear that there would be no negotiations with the terrorists, and "we will very soon get them either alive or dead".

Maharashtra government has put the death toll at 101 killed, including nine foreigners, and about 300 injured.

A union leader of Oberoi Trident hotel, who was inside the hotel when the terrorists struck at around 9.30 pm on Wednesday night, told rediff.com that there were four terrorists carrying bags full of explosives who fired indiscriminately in the kitchen. Four employees are reportedly to have been shot dead in the incident, and a few guests were injured, he said.

According to him, 40 people are currently holed up on the 17th floor of the hotel. When he last left the hotel, he saw commandoes entering the hotel, he said.

Raging fire and plumes of black smoke were seen billowing from the central dome of the century-old heritage Taj hotel opposite the Gateway of India on Thursday morning as firemen struggled to douse them. A guest stranded in one of the rooms said two explosions shook the building.

Is this Indian Mujahideen's revenge on the ATS?

Another luxury hotel Trident was under siege with some terrorists holding some foreigners hostage. A tourist guide was worried about the fate of five Canadians he had put up in that hotel. Earlier in the night, explosions were heard in the hotel.

Exchange of fire intensified at Nariman House, a residential complex with a Jewish prayer hall, where also a hostage situation was prevailing. There were unconfirmed reports of a similar situation in Cama hospital.

As Wednesday night's terror incidents spread a sense of panic and fear in the metropolis, schools and colleges were ordered closed and the Bombay Stock Exchange will not function on Thursday.

Suburban trains and city buses operated normally but without usual rush. Except for cancellation of three international flights, domestic air services to Mumbai were maintained.

Images: Encounter on Marine Drive

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said five police officers including Anti Terrorism [Images] Squad chief Hemant Karkare were killed in one of the worst terror strikes in the country's financial capital that in all claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel.

"The operation (by security forces) is still going on," he said. Besides army commandoes, naval commandos and Rapid Action force personnel joined in the operations to rescue those stranded in the two hotels. Five columns of Army and 200 NSG commandoes have been rushed. Two sten guns have been recovered by the police so far, he added.

Deshmukh said it was not immediately known how many terrorists were involved in the audacious attack in ten places that shook the western metropolis. The chief minister assured that there were no terrorists inside Cama hospital.

Mumbai was warned about terror -

The terrorists came by boats and struck at 10 places but their number is not known immediately, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

The terror attacks began between 9 pm and 9.15 pm with indiscriminate firing and bomb blasts, Deshmukh said.

The attackers threw grenades and fired indiscriminately while storming the hotels across Mumbai, he added.

Asked whether foreigners were the target of the attacks, the Chief Minister disagreed, saying it could not be said for certain.

Image: Terrorist strikes at Mumbai's CST station

The police said two terrorists continued to be holed up in Oberoi hotel. In Taj Hotel, there were reports of firing in its basement, after 100 guests were rescued.

Firefighters were spraying water at the blaze and were bringing out hotel guests with the help of snorkel ladders. It was not immediately clear what triggered the fire.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media organisations.

Captain Vijay Raichand, who managed to escape from Taj Hotel, said, "Around 9:40 pm, I heard shots of gun firing which was coming nearer, we could also see some injured from the window. Once fire broke out in the hotel, it was scary since smoke started coming from a vent. We could not break the glass as it was tough and we panicked."

An MP relives the Taj terror

Another hotel employee, who did not want to be identified, said, "I was working at the bar when we heard a popping sound. I told a friend that it must be fire crackers from a wedding ceremony, however, I later learnt that some shooting was taking place in the palace room.

We locked the door and kept them away. Then the glass door burst and injured a friend. We panicked and ran to a locker room, where around 150 of us stayed for 6 hours, before we were rescued."

Gunmen attacks across Mumbai kill at least 101, others held hostage

'The situation is still not under control': minister

A police officer stands guard after shootings at a railway station in Mumbai on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Gunmen launched co-ordinated attacks at several crowded locations across India's financial capital on Wednesday, killing at least 101 people and holding several people hostage through the night at two luxury hotels.

At least seven locations in Mumbai, including a restaurant popular with tourists and a crowded train station, were targeted in the rifle and grenade attacks, which began around 10:30 p.m. local time.

"At least six foreigners have been killed and the death figure has gone up to 101 now," Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer told Reuters Thursday morning as a curfew was declared in parts of the city.

Though reports of injuries fluctuated throughout the evening, 287 are now believed to have been wounded, Tayde said. No Canadians have been reported killed or injured in the attacks.

Gunmen were still holding hostages at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and another five-star hotel, the Oberoi, as dawn approached Thursday, according to officials. The two are among the country's best-known hotels.

A man carries a victim of a gun attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station. (Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press)

"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's chief minister, noting 11 police officers had been killed across the city.

Media reports said seven to 15 foreigners were being held at the Taj Mahal, while gunmen were holding an unknown number of hostages at the Oberoi.

Television footage showed a room on the top floor of the Taj Mahal erupting in flames, as smoke billowed from the roof amid media reports of explosions and heavy gunfire being heard coming from within the building. The fire was still burning Thursday morning.

"The terrorists are throwing grenades at us from the rooftop of the Taj and trying to stop us from moving in," said police inspector Ashok Patil.

A Canadian woman named Manuela Testolini told CNN that the Oberoi was surrounded by soldiers.

"We sent a couple people out and they did confirm that, and we are far enough to feel safe but close enough to still hear what's going on," Testolini said.

If Canadians are looking for information on relatives in Mumbai, they can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs at 1-613-996-8885 from inside Canada or 1-800-387-3124 from other countries.

"We'll just lay low until at least it's daylight and the dust starts to settle."

A little-known organization calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen has claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets, according to one Indian report. Officials said police killed four suspected attackers in two incidents as they tried to flee in cars, while nine others were arrested.

Two other gunmen have reportedly been killed at the Taj Mahal and another nine captured, according to officials.

Other sites attacked in the port city formerly known as Bombay included the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station and Leopold's restaurant, a Mumbai landmark, as well as the city's Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital.

A man injured in one of the attacks in Mumbai leans on a railing. (Associated Press)

It appears the "maximum number of casualties" occurred in the train station, located in the southern part of the city, as gunmen fired indiscriminately into crowds of commuters, freelance reporter Arun Asthhana told CBC News in an interview from the city.

Several men armed with rifles and grenades were still holed up at the station, Press Trust of India quoted the chief of the Mumbai railway police, A.K. Sharma, as saying.

At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said senior police official A.N. Roy.

Government officials said they are still investigating exactly how the attacks could have occurred.

"These things all happened at one time and happened in this manner," said Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was shown on BBC.

"They have attacked the hotels, they have attacked the hospital, they have targeted the railway station, so it seems that there is a big conspiracy."

Witness: gunmen 'wanted foreigners'

A witness at the Taj Mahal said gunmen were seeking American and British tourists.

"They wanted anyone with British or American passports," the witness, who said he was from London and was in India on business, told the NDTV news channel. He had smoke stains on his face.

"They wanted foreigners."

A British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi hotel also said gunmen who struck there singled out Britons and Americans.

"They were talking about British and Americans specifically," Alex Chamberlain told Sky News television. He said a gunman who appeared to be in his early 20s ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered them to put their hands in the air.

"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.

A Japanese man is reportedly dead, while nine Europeans have been admitted to Bombay Hospital, according to hospital officials speaking on condition of anonymity. Three of the Europeans were said to be in critical condition with gunshot wounds.

All were victims of attacks at the Taj Mahal, the officials said.

A police officer gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai. (Reuters)

There are no reports of Canadians killed or injured in the attacks, and all consular officials in the city are accounted for, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement issued early Wednesday evening.

"These cowardly attacks are truly appalling," the statement said.

Brampton-Springdale MP Ruby Dhalla told CBC News on Wednesday evening that she had spoken to several friends living in Mumbai who reported that the city was completely shut down.

"It is a really serious situation and all of them are in complete shock as to how this has transpired over night," she said.

In addition to attacks at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi, Dhalla said, she heard the JW Marriott was also under siege.

No American casualties have been reported, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, adding that officials are still checking.

Several European legislators were among those inside the Taj Mahal. The group is part of a delegation visiting the city ahead of an upcoming European Union-India summit.

Sajjad Karim told Britain's Press Association news agency that he and several other lawmakers were barricaded inside the hotel.

"I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running," he told the press association by phone from the basement of the hotel.

"A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me. I managed to turn away and I ran into the hotel kitchen," he said.

Indian police officers prepare to take position at the site of an attack in the Colaba area of Mumbai. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images)

"It was really scary. It was like the sound of loud crackers, not one but several. We just ran out of there," said Janice Sequeira, a tourist who was also at the Taj Mahal restaurant.

Leopold's restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were bloodstains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

Mumbai, a sprawling city of some 12 million inhabitants, has been repeatedly targeted by attacks blamed on Muslim militants and underworld figures since 1993.

The most recent previous attacks occurred in July 2006, when a series of co-ordinated bomb blasts on commuter trains during the city's morning rush hour killed nearly190 people and injured more than 700.