'Put your hands up if you are British,' gunmen tell terrified travellers

India's financial capital, Mumbai, was rocked by a series of gun attacks and blasts last night that targeted luxury hotels and restaurants – and especially British and American visitors.

At least 80 people were reported to have been killed and up to 250 injured.

Late last night, armed police were said to be storming rooms held by gunmen on the upper floors of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi, two of the best-known hotels in India. Officials said the terrorists had struck at least seven locations, including hotels, hospitals, a railway station and the Cafe Leopold, the city's most famous restaurant and meeting place for Western tourists.

Related articles

• Three gunmen killed as India hotel siege ends
• Terror attacks mark new chapter in India's increasingly violent history
• Miliband: Mumbai outrage 'attack on all of us'
• Who could be behind the Mumbai attacks?
• Briton confirmed among fatalities
• Brown pledge over Mumbai Britons
• Israeli rabbi held hostage by Mumbai gunmen
• Site-by-site breakdown of Mumbai attacks
• Indian Navy boards ship off Mumbai
• Mumbai police asked that Twitterers keep quiet
• Terrorists shot man standing next to me
• England abandons one-day matches against India
• Champions League postponed after Mumbai attacks
• Search the news archive for more stories

At one location, the gunmen had apparently been searching for British and American travellers to take hostage. Reports suggested that several hostages were still being held.

"An encounter is going on at the two hotels, the situation is grave," said Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Maharashtra state chief minister. "Our men are on the job." The Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, said there were four or five armed attackers under siege in each of the two hotels.

"They have attacked hotels, they have attacked the hospitals, they have attacked the railway station," he said. In one shootout, three senior policemen, including Hemant Karkare, the head of Mumbai's anti-terrorist squad, were reported to have been killed.

Television images showed the lobbies of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels in south Mumbai on fire, apparently after grenade blasts. People were being evacuated from the Oberoi with their hands on their heads. At the Taj Mahal some of the injured were evacuated on golden luggage carts.

There was no immediate, official indication of the identity of the attackers. The targeting of American and British visitors implied the raids had been mounted by an extreme Islamist group. A previously un-known organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen sent an email to news agencies last night claiming responsibility. Local police chiefs blamed "Pakistani agents" but that is a standard reaction by junior Indian officials after terrorist attacks.

"I guess they were after foreigners, because they were asking for British or American passports," said Rakesh Patel, a British citizen living in Hong Kong and was staying at the Taj Mahal hotel on business. "They had bombs."

"They came from the restaurant and took us up the stairs," he said. "Young boys, maybe 20 years old, 25 years old. They had two guns."

Alex Chamberlain, who works for a sports website and was in the city on business, told Sky News that gunmen had burst into the Oberoi hotel's restaurant and pushed diners upstairs. "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'," said Mr Chamberlain. "I am sure that is what this is all about. They were talking about British and Americans specifically."

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, described the attacks as "outrageous" and promised to help the Indian government mount a "vigorous response". "Urgent action is under way to offer every possible protection to British citizens in the region," he added.

The White House and US President-elect Barack Obama joined France, the president of the European Union, in condemning the attacks. In a statement, Mr Obama said: "These co-ordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks."

The British MEP Sajjad Karim, who is in India with a group of other Euro MPs, was in the Taj Mahal hotel when it was attacked. Speaking by mobile phone from a barricaded basement, he told reporters that he and others had fled from machine-gun fire. One member of the European delegation was reported to have been wounded.

"I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running. There were about 25 or 30 of us," said the Conservative MEP. "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 kitchen and then we were shunted into a restaurant in the basement. We are now in the dark in this room and we've barricaded all the doors. It's really bad."

Alan Jones, who was in the city on business, was staying at a hotel adjoing the Oberoi. He said: "We took the lift to the lobby and heard bangs as the door opened. A Japanese man was shot and wounded. I frantically pressed the close door button and we headed back to our rooms but were quickly told by staff to go to a safe room in the basement." Janice Sequeira, a tourist who had been at the Taj Mahal, said: "It was really scary. It was like the sound of loud crackers, not one but several, we just ran out of there."

Television news channels also reported shooting outside the Cafe Leopold and at a hospital and a railway station. Again 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 K Sharma, a Mumbai police official. In the aftermath, the restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were bloodstains on the floor and discarded shoes.. There were also reports of either firing or blasts in one of the city's hospitals.

Sourav Mishra, a Reuters reporter, was with friends at the Cafe Leopold when gunmen opened fire about 9.30pm. He was injured and is in St George's Hospital. "I heard some gunshots about 9.30. I was with my friends. Something hit me. I ran away and fell on the road. Then somebody picked me up. I have injuries below my shoulder," Mr Mishra said from a hospital bed he was sharing with three other people.

India has suffered a series of terror attacks in recent months but last night's massacre – with a combination of grenades and automatic weapons – marks a new and deadly milestone in its continuing battle against extremists. Most of the attacks have been blamed on extremist Muslim groups but, in recent weeks, police have rounded up 10 members of what they say is its first Hindu terror cell.