'No Britons' Among Mumbai Killers

[Spike]

[shadow=black]A senior Indian official has said there is no evidence that any of the gunmen who killed 195 people in Mumbai were British.[/shadow]

Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra state's chief minister, was speaking as pictures emerged of the scorched interior of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Police declared an end to the hostage crisis in Mumbai after commandos killed the last three gunmen who had been holed up in the hotel.

There has been speculation that some of the terrorists were Britons of Pakistani origin, with some reports saying they came from Barnsley and Hartlepool.

But Mr Deshmukh told reporters:"There is no such authentic information, we totally deny this."

Intelligence sources say eight of the gunmen had been in the city preparing for the attacks for a month. Others came in by boat. Officials have said there may only have been 10 in total.

One Indian commando was also reportedly killed in the final exchanges at the five-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Mumbai police commissioner Hassan Gafoor said: "All operations are over. All the terrorists have been killed."

The last three militants and at least one trooper died after a running gun battle through a maze of corridors, rooms and halls, the country's commando chief, Jyoti Krishna Dutt, told a news conference.

He appealed to any guests still hiding in the hotel to come out, adding: "We are now going through each and every room to make sure it is safe."

The gunmen had set parts of the hotel ablaze as they played cat and mouse with scores of India's elite NSG commandos, known as the Black Cats.

The hotel was the final battleground after almost three days of fighting across the city of 18 million people.

A Mumbai police official said the death toll following the co-ordinated attacks stands at 195 and "still counting".

Authorities have said that some of the gunmen arrived in Mumbai by sea. An inflatable boat containing explosives was discovered.

A GPS satellite phone was recovered from the boat and could prove one of the best leads to discovering more about the terrorists and their movements.

Nine terrorists have been killed and one captured, police said.

A larger boat, containing one dead body, has also been found off Mumbai. It is thought this may have been the launching point for the attack.

Sky News correspondent Lisa Holland, in Mumbai, described the end of the siege at the hotel. She said: "After 58hrs and 26 minutes the siege appears to have come to a conclusion and it does seem the situation is now under control."

She said that a fresh offensive, launched just after dawn, sparked "a series of dramatic explosions. The fire spread fairly dramatically from the first floor to a third floor ballroom."

Local journalist Mihir Joshi told Sky News that the fighting could still be heard.

"It's a strange scene right now ... armed forces are going all out," he said.

Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard from inside the hotel before the flames emerged.

Local television pictures located fire raging on the first floor at approximately 7.35am local time (about 2.05am UK time). Smoke was then seen billowing out of the building.

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel was targeted as gunmen struck in 10 incidents, all carried out in the space of two hours, leaving almost 200 dead and about 295 wounded.

Two other sieges - one at the Trident Oberoi hotel and another at a Jewish outreach centre - had already been concluded.

Five hostages were found dead at the outreach centre, including a rabbi, Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, and his wife Rivkah. Their son Moshe, who turned two on Saturday, had been rescued by the family's nanny.

One Briton and five Americans are among at least 18 foreigners reported killed. Dozens more Britons were caught up in the horror, either wounded, taken hostage or forced to hide in their rooms.

A number of Indian officials have suggested the militants were from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is notorious for a deadly attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 that almost pushed India and Pakistan into war.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said he would act swiftly if given any evidence of involvement by Pakistani groups or individuals.

:: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says those concerned about their British friends and relatives should call:
+44 (0)20 700 800 00
and all Britons in Mumbai should stay indoors.