Siege drags on at Mumbai hotel, death toll rises to 155

MUMBAI, India, Nov. 28 Kyodo - Gunfire and explosions were Friday heard at the luxury Taj Mahal Hotel where one gunmen was reportedly still holed up two days after terrorists launched a
series of deadly attacks in Mumbai.
Among other sites attacked by the militants, Indian authorities said the siege
was over at a Jewish center in Mumbai and that commandos had regained control
of the Trident-Oberoi Hotel.
Indian news reports said the bodies of five hostages were found in the Jewish
center. The nationalities of the bodies were not immediately known.
The death toll from Wednesday's attacks in nine locations was 155, including
eight foreigners, with a further 327 injured, CNN's Indian sister network,
CNN-IBN, reported.
Among the dead were reportedly as many as four Australians, a Japanese man, an
Italian, a Briton and a German.
A 28-year-old Singapore woman was among the foreigners killed at the
Trident-Oberoi Hotel, according to the Singapore Foreign Ministry.
Lo Hoei Yen, who had been held as a hostage, was found by Indian security
forces on the 19th floor of the hotel, the ministry said.
After a morning of shooting and explosions in Mumbai, the head of one commando
unit flushing out militants at the Taj Mahal Hotel said he had seen 12 to 15
bodies in one room among a total of 50 in the hotel, according to Reuters news
service.
The commandos found money, ammunition and an identity card from Mauritius that
they suspected belonged to the militants, the commander was quoted as telling a
news conference.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor told CNN-IBN that the gunman at the Taj
Mahal Hotel was shooting and throwing grenades at security forces.
Three attackers arrested Thursday night at the Taj Mahal Hotel are Pakistani
nationals who are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group,
the Press Trust of India reported.
India's NDTV quoted a senior army officer as saying that other attackers are
also thought to be Pakistanis.
''The terrorists tried to pretend that they were from Hyderabad,'' the
unidentified official said, referring to the capital of India's southern state
of Andhra Pradesh.
''(But) intercepts show terrorists speaking in Punjabi,'' he added, referring
to the most common language of Pakistan, India's rival.
In a nationally televised address Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh suggested the attacks were foreign-inspired, saying, ''The well-planned
and very orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended
to create a sense of panic by choosing high-profile targets and
indiscriminately killing innocent foreigners.''
Indian authorities were reportedly questioning the crew of a ship detained off
India's west coast, suspecting the attacks originated from the vessel believed
to be from Karachi, Pakistan.
Pakistan's president and prime minister have both strongly condemned the Mumbai
attacks.
A little-known group of Islamic militants, calling itself the Deccan
Mujahideen, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Singh condemned the attacks and said his government would be setting up a
federal government agency to coordinate against threats to public safety in
India.
A wave of terror attacks has hit Indian cities, including Mumbai, in recent
years. Most of them have been blamed on Islamist militants.
==Kyodo