AMagazine MUMBAI: A militant holed up inside Mumbai's Oberoi Hotel told a television news channel on Thursday that seven attackers were holding hostages inside the luxury establishment. "There are seven of us inside hotel Oberoi," the man identified as Sahadullah told the channel. "We want all Mujahideens held in India released and only after that we will release the people."The terrorist said he belonged to an Indian Islamist group that is seeking an end to the persecution of Indian Muslims.
Identifying himself as a member of a group calling itself Deccan Mujahedeen, the gunman, who was holed up in the Oberoi Trident Hotel, called for the release of all fellow Islamic militants detained in India.
"Muslims in India should not be persecuted. We love this as our country but when our mothers and sisters were being killed, where was everybody?" he told the channel by phone from inside the hotel, which is surrounded by army commandos.
"Release all the Mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled," he said.
Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandoes moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage after a night of terror targeting ten places in Mumbai.
Smoke was seen billowing from the new building of the Taj Hotel -- which stands next to the old building where terrorists are holed up.
While NSG operation was on in the old building, fire brigade personnel were trying to douse fire in the new wing.
Army commandoes moved into the luxury Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels to flush out terrorists holed up hours after an unspecified number of heavily armed gunmen went on a rampage in ten places in South Mumbai killing 101 persons and taking some foreigners hostage.
Fire and smoke was seen billowing from the hotel as firemen struggled hard to rescue over 100 people still trapped inside.
Five suspected terrorists were killed in two separate incidents overnight including two during a gun battle in the country's iconic landmark Taj hotel, police said.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister R R Patil said nine suspected terrorists have been arrested. Schools and colleges were ordered to be closed.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said five police officers including Anti Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare were killed in one of the worst terror strikes in the country's financial capital that in all claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel.
"The operation (by security forces) is still going on," he said. Besides army commandoes, naval commandos and Rapid Action force personnel joined in the operations to rescue those stranded in the two hotels. Five columns of Army and 200 NSG commandoes have been rushed. Two sten guns have been recovered by police so far, he added.
Deshmukh said it was not immediately known how many terrorists were involved in the audacious attack in ten places that shook the western metropolis. The chief minister said the Taj and Oberoi are not in control yet. He said there are no terrorists in Cama hospital which was also targeted by gunmen.
Police reported that some hostages were still being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi with eyewitnesses saying the gunmen had targeted foreigners after they kept shouting: "Who has US or UK passports?" Several guests were also stuck.
Fire was still raging in the old wing of Taj hotel several hours after it was rocked by five to six blasts and enormous clouds of black smoke rose from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront.
