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Guests evacuated from Mumbai hotel as end nears

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-28 17:14

MUMBAI -- Foreign and Indian guests holed up by militants in a luxury hotel were being evacuated room by room on Friday, as commandos stormed a nearby Jewish centre where Israeli hostages were being held by Islamist gunmen.

Indian police take positions outside a Jewish centre in Mumbai November 28, 2008. Gunfire erupted on Friday when commandos began an operation to free Israelis held by suspected Islamist gunmen in Mumbai. [Agencies]

Well-dressed guests, some dragging their suitcases, emerged from the Trident-Oberoi hotel and were escorted into waiting buses and cars, as the end of the siege appeared imminent. One man held a baby in his arms.

"They are evacuating everyone," said one Indian woman leaving the hotel with her husband. "Everyone is being taken care of."

Army Commander Lieutenant-General N. Thamburaj said at least one militant may still be holding two hostages in the luxury Taj Mahal Hotel, 36 hours after the brazen, coordinated attacks in the city that police said killed at least 121 people.

He told reporters that almost all guests and staff had been evacuated from the Taj and the operation would be wrapped up there in a few hours.

Hours earlier just across the city, Indian commandos, their faces covered by balaclavas, rappeled from helicopters onto the roof of a Jewish centre to flush out another group of militants there.

At the centre, in a crowded part of the city, a Reuters witness said troops fired inside to provide cover as commandos made at least three sorties and took up positions on the roof.

Mumbai, a city of 18 million, is the nerve-centre of India's growing economic might and home to the "Bollywood" film industry.

Hindu-dominated India, which has a sizeable Muslim minority, has been hit by militant attacks for decades. But this strike seemed aimed at crippling its ability to draw foreign investment.

India's markets closed on Thursday. The main stock exchange reopened on Friday, initially falling but soon recovering most of its losses.

Pinning Blame

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pinned blame for the attacks on militant groups based in India's neighbours, usually an allusion to Pakistan, raising prospects of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals.

He warned of "a cost" if these nations did not take action to stop their territory being used to launch such attacks.

An estimated 25 men armed with assault rifles and grenades, at least some of whom arrived by sea, had fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday night to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen, including the city's top two luxury hotels.

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