Live Feed From India

By Nick Mcdermott, Caroline Grant and Ryan Kisiel

• At least 86 people dead and more than 900 injured
• Up to 40 hostages taken, many believed to be Brits
• Two luxury five star hotels targeted
• Attacks believed to be the work of Islamic terrorists

Up to 40 Britons were being held hostage in Mumbai last night after a wave of horrific terror attacks aimed at Westerners.

An armed gang targeted seven tourist locations in the Indian city, seeking anyone with a British or American passport.

At least 86 people were killed and more than 900 wounded as the gunmen opened fire in what appeared to be the first Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist attack against foreigners in India.

One of the gunmen is pictured as scores were killed in a series of terror attacks

A policeman stands guard after shootings at a railway station in Mumbai

Police fought running gun battles with the terrorists. The gang targeted two luxury hotels, the waterfront Taj Mahal and the Oberoi.

They also struck at Cafe Leopold, a popular tourist restaurant, a main railway station, two hospitals and a police station.

There were explosions at the Oberoi hotel and fierce gunfire at a hospital where gunmen were surrounded.

Desperate escape: Guests at the luxurious Taj Mahal hotel had to be rescued by firefighters as the building went up in flames

As the sun came up, the Taj Mahal hotel continued to burn

At the Taj Mahal, troops were sent in to rescue trapped people after a major fire broke out.

One fleeing guest said the stairway-in the blazing heritage wing was ‘full of dead bodies’.

Screams could be heard from guests trapped on higher floors as firemen used extension ladders and smashed windows to reach them.

Indian authorities said they believed 40 people were still being held prisoner at the hotel.

Rakesh Patel, a Briton who was staying there, said: ‘The gunmen came through the restaurant and they took us up the stairs.

A policeman looks on as the Taj Mahal hotel is attacked

‘They wanted all those with a British or American passport.’ He said the terrorists were in their 20s and carrying bombs.

‘We decided to run outside but around 15 were taken, not just British and Americans but Indians as well. They were taken up to the 20th floor.’

Briton Alex Chamberlain was in the restaurant of the exclusive Oberoi hotel when gunmen burst in and herded 40 diners upstairs.

He said: ‘They told everybody to stop and put their hands up and asked if there were any British or Americans. My friend said to me, "Don’t be a hero, don’t say you are British".’

Awe: Indian police prepare to tackle the chaos in Mumbai

Officers take cover as their city falls under siege

Mr Chamberlain went on: ‘They were talking about British and Americans specifically. 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.’

Mr Chamberlain, who works for cricket’s Indian Premier League, said he managed to slip away as the diners were forced to walk upstairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.

He said: ‘I phoned my girlfriend and told her I loved her and thought it would be the last time I would talk to anyone.’

Mr Chamberlain said when he reached the street there were about 20 police officers there ‘looking just as scared as any of us’.

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai

Guests at the Taj Mahal comfort each other

He added: ‘The gunmen shot people completely unnecessarily’.

There were reports last night that a British employee working for Unilever was one of those being held hostage by terrorists.

A company spokesman said: ‘As far as we are aware all are employees are safe.

However, there are one or two people that are unaccounted for and we have not been able to get in contact with.’

He was unable to confirm whether these people were Indian or British nationals.

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The Taj Mahal Palace hotel burns as Mumbai comes under terrorist attack

An injured person hides behind a wall after the terror attack at a railway station

Tory MEP Sajjad Karim, in Mumbai with a Brussels trade talks delegation, was in the Taj Mahal.

He said: ‘I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running. There were about 25 or 30 of us. Some of us split one way and some another. A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me.

‘I managed to turn away and I ran into the hotel kitchen and then we were shunted into a restaurant in the basement.’

Officials at Bombay hospital said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshot wounds. All had come from the Taj Mahal.

Shivraj Patel, India’s home minister, said the gunmen ‘had explosives in their clothes and they are firing at people in hotels.

Mumbai burning: The skyline is lit up by flames

‘They are trying to throw explosives from the roof of another building. They have attacked the hospital. They attacked the railway station.’

A still image broadcast on Indian television showed a young terrorist armed with an AK47 storming into a hotel. It was apparently taken from the building’s CCTV.

A previously unknown group, Deccan Mujihadeen, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

World leaders, including Gordon Brown, George Bush and U.S. President- elect Barack Obama condemned the outrage.

A policeman walks with an elderly man after shootings at a railway station

Onlookers stand at the site of a bomb blast in Mumbai

Mr Brown condemned the attacks as ‘outrageous’ and said they would be met with a ‘vigorous response’.

He said urgent action was under way to offer ‘every possible protection’ to British citizens in the region.

Tory leader David Cameron said: ‘I utterly condemn the attacks that have taken place in Mumbai and the terrible loss of life that has occurred.

‘My thoughts are with all those who have been caught up in these attacks. India and Britain stand together at this time in the face of terrorism.’

With Britons being targeted, the England cricket team’s tour of India is now in doubt. The side had been booked to stay at the Taj Mahal from December 16.

The Middlesex county team had been due to check into the hotel today.

Captain Shaun Udal said: ‘If it was this time tomorrow it would have been the Middlesex team in there. You just don’t want to think about it. I feel so much for the people in the horrific incident.

‘I have stayed in that hotel while playing for England and know it very well.’

The Foreign Office said it was advising all British citizens in Mumbai to stay indoors.

It also issued an emergency number for people concerned about friends or relatives. It is 020 7008 0000.

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A map shows the locations of the bombings across Mumbai

We did it, say fanatics with links to Al Qaeda

A Muslim terror group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed last night that it was behind the attacks in Mumbai.

If confirmed it would be the first time a group with links to Al Qaeda had targeted Westerners in India.

Islamist militants have repeatedly struck at Mumbai over the last 20 years. The worst attack was in 2006 when more than 200 people were killed in coordinated railway bombings during the evening rush hour.

The switch to attacking foreigners appears to be an attempt to cause maximum damage to India’s economy and international reputation.

India has blamed most recent terror attacks on Islamist militant groups based in Pakistan or Bangladesh. But a new Islamic group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen emerged last year and claimed responsibility for several multiple bomb attacks in major cities. It is thought Deccan Mujahideen is linked to that group.

India’s 150 million-strong Muslim population has long complained of discrimination at the hands of its Hindu majority.

Many also object to Indian rule in Kashmir, a region with a Muslim majority region which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.

Al Qaeda has repeatedly threatened to attack India in revenge for its policies in Kashmir, where there have been repeated allegations of atrocities.

Timeline of terror attacks in India

Following is a chronology of some of the major attacks in India in the past five years:

• March 13, 2003 - A bomb attack on a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11 people.

• Aug. 25, 2003 - Two car bombs kill about 60 in Mumbai.

• Aug. 15, 2004 - A bomb explodes in the northeastern state of Assam, killing 16 people, mostly schoolchildren, and wounding dozens.

• Oct. 29, 2005 - Sixty-six people are killed when three blasts rip through markets in New Delhi.

• March 7, 2006 - At least 15 people are killed and 60 wounded in three blasts in the northerly Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi.

• July 11, 2006 - More than 180 people are killed in seven bomb explosions at railway stations and on trains in Mumbai that are blamed on Islamist militants.

• Sept. 8, 2006 - At least 32 people are killed in a series of explosions, including one near a mosque, in Malegaon town, 160 miles northeast of Mumbai.

• Feb. 19, 2007 - Two bombs explode aboard a train heading from India to Pakistan; at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, burn to death.

• May 18, 2007 - A bomb explodes during Friday prayers at a historic mosque in the southern city of Hyderabad, killing 11 worshippers. Police later shoot dead five people in clashes with hundreds of enraged Muslims who protest against the attack.

• Aug. 25, 2007 - Three coordinated explosions at an amusement park and a street stall in Hyderabad kill at least 40 people.

• May 13, 2008 - Seven bombs rip through the crowded streets of the western city of Jaipur, killing at least 63 people in markets and outside Hindu temples.

• July 25 - Eight small bombs hit the IT city of Bangalore, killing at least one woman and wounding at least 15.

• July 26 - At least 16 small bombs explode in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, killing 45 people and wounding 161. A little-known group called the ‘Indian Mujahideen’ claims responsibility for the attack and the May 13 attack in Jaipur.

• Sept 13 - At least five bombs explode in crowded markets and streets in the heart of New Delhi, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more. The Indian Mujahideen again claim responsibility.

• Nov 26 - At least 80 people were killed in a series of attacks apparently aimed at tourists in India’s financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday. Police said at least 250 people had been wounded.