INDIA was on a war footing last night after at least 101 people had been killed by a group of al-Qa'ida-trained operatives who arrived by boat out of the Persian Gulf to attack India's financial capital.
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Up to 30 attackers used boats to hit either side of the peninsular metropolis with machinegun and grenade assaults on at least twofive-star hotels, the city's largest train station, a Jewish centre, a cinema and a hospital, in one of the biggest al-Qa'ida-linked terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001.
The Indian navy last night boarded a cargo vessel, the MV Alpha, which had recently sailed to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, and was suspected of being linked to the terror raids.
The co-ordinated assaults across Mumbai, which left one Australian among the dead, also led to at least 200 people reportedly being taken hostage.
The full-frontal attacks, using grenades and assault weapons, had all the hallmarks of the spectacular assault on the Indian parliament in 2001 that killed 12people and brought India andPakistan to the brink of nuclear war.
Indian army commandos laid siege to the two luxury hotels in Mumbai where terrorists were holding Westerners hostage. The terrorists late last night released hostages from one of the hotels, the Oberoi Trident, but the fate of those in the other hotel, the Taj Mahal, was not known.
The Australian killed in the attacks was named last night as Brett Gilbert Taylor. Mr Taylor, 49, was brought dead to St George Hospital, in south Mumbai, sources at the hospital said.
Friends said Mr Taylor, a fourth-generation timber merchant from Turramurra, in Sydney's north, was the epitome of the great Australian male, who loved talking proudly about his family over a beer.
Peter Freedman, who has known Mr Taylor since their high school days at Sydney's Trinity Grammar, said "Stubby" was always a good friend to everyone.
Mr Taylor was in India representing Blacktown Timber, a family-owned business in Sydney's west.
The number of injured was unclear but had been put at 270. They include at least two Australians who were shot as they dined at the popular Cafe Leopold in the heart of Mumbai.
Sydney woman Katie Anstee, 24, underwent surgery and was in intensive care after she was shot through the leg. Her boyfriend, David Coker, 23, from Townsville, has a flesh wound from a bullet that grazed his leg.
A British guest at the Taj Mahal hotel, Rakesh Patel, said of the attackers: "They were very young - like boys, really - wearing jeans and T-shirts."
At least 11 foreigners, including the Australians, were injured in the terror strikes and were admitted to Bombay Hospital.
According to sources, the foreigners were from Australia, Britain, the US, Norway, Spain, Canada and Singapore. Survivors said the attacks had been aimed at Westerners and authorities said an unknown number of foreigners - believed to total at least two groups of 40 in each hotel - were taken hostage.
British businessman Alex Chamberlain 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're British'."
A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident hotels.
The gunmen are demanding the release of "Mujahedeens" held in Indian jails before they free their prisoners. Speaking from the Oberoi hotel, where at least half a dozen foreigners were being held hostage, a gunman, identifed as Sahadullah, told Indian TV he belonged to an Indian Islamist group seeking an end to the persecution of Indian Muslims.
India's navy and coast guard were scouring the seas off Mumbai to look for the "mother ship", which could have ferried the terrorists who carried out attacks in this metropolis.
Security sources said there was little doubt the Deccan Mujahedeen was the same as a group known as the Indian Mujahideen, the al-Qa'ida-linked organisation that has claimed responsibility for the terror attacks that have been sweeping India this year.
Indian Mujahideen is linked to the notorious Students Islamic Movement of India, a mainstay of al-Qa'ida's operating arm in India.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri have in the past made it clear they regard "infidel" India as a target as important as "Zionist" Israel, and have placed the "liberation" of the disputed, Indian-controlled Himalayan territory of Kashmir high on the list of priorities.Kevin Rudd warned Australia's casualty toll could rise. Officials were checking to determine how many Australians had been caught up in the attacks.
Witnesses said the gunmen had specifically chosen US and British citizens as hostages. One Japanese was among the dead, Tokyo's Foreign Ministry said.
Frequent bursts of gunfire in and around the two five-star hotels continued to be heard last night. The head of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad, Hemant Karkare, was one of at least 11 security personnel killed in the shootouts.
Another siege was in progress at Nariman House, an office building that houses a Jewish centre. The chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, Jonathan Solomon, said a rabbi and his family were being held inside by gunmen.
Police said two gunmen at the Taj Mahal hotel had been shot dead, but two more were still believed to be holed up inside.
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