Mumbai Massacre Update, Part 3: The Hostage Crisis Is Still Continuing (The Read International for 11/28/08)

Photo from AFP

The horror is still going on, 36 hours after it had commenced:

Commandos involved in the operation have described the terrorists as "showing no remorse, firing at anyone who moves".

With his face disguised by a scarf and sunglasses, one commando said he had seen around 50 dead bodies in the building and explosives capable of causing "major damage".

The wave of terror attacks began more than 36 hours earlier after small groups of militants, armed with automatic weapons and grenades, entered the city by boat and fanned out.

They burst into two hotels, a hospital and a railway station as well as a cafe popular with foreign tourists, firing indiscriminately and throwing grenades.

Hundreds of people were held captive at the Taj Mahal Palace and Trident-Oberoi hotels, many locking themselves in their rooms or trying to hide as the gunmen roamed the buildings.

The firing has intensified at the Taj Mahal Police, as reports still indicated that there are still more terrorists in that building alone.

The army says at least one gunman is still alive and is thought to be holding a number of hostages.

But Crawford says intelligent sources claim up to six militants are still holed up inside the hotel building.

"At one stage there was firing out of two separate windows. So we knew that was not true early on," she said.

"They (the authorities) appear to have such little control of the situation.

"The situation clearly hasn't finished - a lot of action is still happening and small arms fire is still ongoing."

Explosions are running deep at the Nariman House:

Indian National Security Guard chief JK Dutt gives details of Nariman House aftermath to NDTV: Three of the hostages were found dead on the building's second floor, killed by the gunmen who then moved upstairs. The other two hostages were found dead on the fourth floor, where the gunmen were eventually killed.

The final assault on the gunman from the Indian troops is being reported around, as I have heard on the BBC News America.

As the evidence shows, this is sadly far from over:

Up to 200 people are believed to be still trapped in the hotels.

Sohail Rahman, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Mumbai, said the attackers holed up in the Taj appear to be mounting a strong resistance.

"Earlier it had been reported that security services had been able to take control of the Taj, but there was shooting from the second and third floors of the hotel, from gunmen holed up there," he said.

"Security services fired back but they have now restrained themselves because they believe there are a number of hostages still inside.

"That is quite a surprise considering that a few hours ago it was reported that they had control of the hotel and the Taj siege was over."

Meanwhile, the chief of India's Marine Commando Force said that his troops had come across "12 to 15 bodies" while sweeping through the Taj.

"The [attackers] were the kind of people with no remorse - anybody and whomsoever came in front of them, they fired," the commando said.

More updates to come. For live coverage, go here, to Sky News.

Photo from AFP