Ten killed as tourists targeted in Mumbai

Published on Wednesday 26 November 2008 20:41

AT LEAST ten people were killed and 25 wounded in shootings around India's financial capital Mumbai last night, with two five-star hotels among the targets in what police called a terror attack.

"It looks like a terrorist attack, we are investigating who are behind it," said the Maharashtra state police chief.

Targets included the luxury Taj and Oberoi hotels, with television images showing the lobby of both hotels on fire and people being evacuated from the Oberoi with their hands on their heads.

"The lobby of the Taj hotel is on fire," a police spokesman said. "We are trying to find out how many people are inside the hotel."

Some of the injured were evacuated from the Taj onluggage trolleys.

Television also reported shooting outside the Cafe Leopold, a popular tourist restaurant, and at hospitals and railway stations. Reports said automatic rifles had been used, and at least one hand grenade thrown.

"They entered the passenger hub of a station and started firing,"said a railway police commissioner.

Sameeran Chakraborty, a Mumbai resident, told the NDTV news channel he heard a blast inside a car near the city airport.

India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists.