Large plumes of smoke are seen coming from the Taj Hotel in Mumbai on Thursday after a series of coordinated attacks rocked the city. (Arko Datta/Reuters)
MUMBAI: Teams of heavily armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India's financial capital, killing at least 78 people and wounding at least 200, officials said Thursday.
Large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the top of the landmark Taj Hotel and heavy firing could be heard, a witness said.
Among the dead was Hemant Karkare, chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai, Indian television channels reported.
A media report says a little-known group, the Deccan Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility for the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The Press Trust of India news agency said Thursday the group sent e-mails to several media outlets.
The gunmen were specifically targeting Britons and Americans, media reports said.
A top police official said gunmen, after opening fire, were holding hostages at two luxury Mumbai hotels. A.N. Roy, a senior police officer in Mumbai, says the hostages are being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels.
The gunmen also attacked police headquarters in south Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks, which began late Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning, took place.
"We are under fire, there is shooting at the gate," said a constable, A. Shetti, by phone from police headquarters.
Hours after the first attacks, A.N. Roy, a senior police officer, said police continued to battle the gunmen.
"The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed, the encounters are still going on and we are trying to overpower them," Roy said.
Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said 78 people had been killed and 200 had been injured.
The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terror attacks, often blamed on Muslim militants, including a series of blasts in July 2007 that killed 187 people.
Gunmen also attacked the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station in southern Mumbai and Leopold's restaurant, a Mumbai landmark.
A Briton eating at the Oberoi told Sky News television that the attackers were singling out Britons and Americans.
Alex Chamberlain said a gunman, a young man of 22 or 23, ushered 30 or 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands.
"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," he said.
Chamberlain said the gunman spoke in Hindi or Urdu.
He managed to slip away from the group as they were forced to walk up the stairs, but said most of the group was still being kept hostage.
Early Thursday, several European lawmakers were among those still barricaded inside the Taj, a century-old seaside hotel complex and one of the city's best-known destinations.
"I was in the main lobby and there was all of a sudden a lot of firing outside," said Sajjad Karim, part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a forthcoming EU-India summit. He turned to get away "and all of a sudden another gunmen appeared in front of us, carrying machine gun-type weapons. And he just started firing at us ... I just turned and ran in the opposite direction," he told The Associated Press over his mobile phone.
Hours later, he remained holed up in a hotel restaurant, unsure if the incident was over, and whether it was safe to come out.
At the Oberoi, police officer P.I. Patil said shots had been fired inside and the hotel had been cordoned off. He would not give any other details.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A.K. Sharma as saying that several men armed with rifles and grenades were holed up in the train station.
Leopold's restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
At least 25 people had been brought to the G.T. Hospital near the shootings, said hospital official Yogesh Pandey.
India has been wracked by deadly bomb attacks in recent years, which police blame on Muslim militants intent on destabilizing this largely Hindu country. Since October 2005, nearly 700 people have died in the bombings. And since May a militant group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen had taken credit for a string of blasts that have killed more than 130.
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One of the scenes of the attack. Credit: Vinukumar Ranganathan
Scores of people have been killed, and many more wounded, in what appear to have been coordinated attacks by gunmen wielding automatic weapons and hand grenades. The attacks began around 10:30 p.m. IST in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Police reports indicate at least 80 deaths and a further 900 injured. More conservative estimates place the death toll at 78 with over 200 injured. Among the dead is believed to be Anti Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare.

According to television reports, a little-known group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility. The name may refer to the Deccan Plateau, which makes up the majority of southern India.

Sites of the attacks have been listed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, a hospital, a police station and at least three hotels, including Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. The Marriott Hotel in Juhu has been attacked with gunfire, but details are sketchy. A restaurant, Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway was also attacked. Other locations are the Cama Hospital.

Detail map showing the locations of the attacks.
The Taj Mahal and the Oberoi Trident hotels have been surrounded by Indian Rapid Action Force commandos. Gunmen are reported to be holding dozens of hostages, including foreigners, at those locations.

A fire is reported to be spreading through the Taj Mahal hotel.  The cause is unknown.

There were hostages at Nariman House in Colaba. This situation has continued all night.

The government has already blamed the attacks on terrorist organizations sponsored by foreign powers.

A number of European Parliament Committee on International Trade delegates were staying in the Taj Mahal hotel when it was attacked. One British MEP, Syed Kamall, left the hotel shortly before the attack to go to a restaurant. Another British MEP, Sajjad Karim, was in the lobby when gunmen initially opened fire there, and was last heard of in hiding in the building; also in hiding was German MEP Erika Mann. Polish MEP Jan Masiel was thought to have been sleeping in his hotel room when the attacks occurred and has not been heard from since, and a Hungarian MEP's assistant was reported shot. Also reported as staying at the hotel, and possibly in danger, is Spanish MEP Ignasi Guardans Cambó.