Mumbai gunmen were British and “came from same area as 7/7 bombers”
Two baby-faced gunman brandishing automatic weapons and below, the scene of carnage they left behind at the main train station
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British-born Pakistanis among arrested militants
Massacre in Mumbai: Up to SEVEN gunmen were British and ‘came from same area as 7/7 bombers’
By Justin Davenport , Rashid Razaq and Nicola Boden
British-born Pakistanis were among the Mumbai terrorists, Indian government sources claimed today, as the death toll rose to at least 155.
As many as seven of the terrorists may have British connections and some could be from Leeds and Bradford where London’s July 7 bombers lived, one source said.
Two Britons were among eight gunmen being held, according to Mumbai’s chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. At least nine others are reportedly dead.
The eight arrested were captured by commandos after they stormed two hotels and a Jewish centre to free hostages today. Despite the Indian authorities’ assurances that the situation was under control, the siege continued at the Taj Mahal hotel and explosions could still be heard in central Mumbai.
One security official said: ‘There is growing concern about British involvement in the attacks.’
But Gordon Brown has urged caution. He emerged from a conversation with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say there was no suggestion of a British link.
‘At no point has the prime minister of India suggested to me that there is evidence at this stage of any terrorist of British origins, but obviously these are huge investigations that are being done and I think it will be premature to draw any conclusions at all,’ Mr Brown said.
Senior Whitehall sources said it was too early to say whether there had been any involvement by British nationals but that security services, working with overseas partners, would be looking at any potential links to the UK.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith also said UK authorities had “no knowledge” of any British links with the massacre, while Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was “too early to say” whether any of the terrorists were British.
As authorities tried to piece together the identities and motivations of the attackers, special forces were still battling with gunmen.
At the five-star Taj Mahal Hotel, officers were still locked in combat with up to six militants believed to be holed up in the ballroom.
The Indian authorities thought they had ended the siege there last night after they shot dead three terrorists and released hundreds of hostages, but it raged again today.
In a major army operation, soldiers threw grenades at the walls in a bid to smoke out the militants. Four bystanders were reported wounded in the crossfire.
Mumbai officials say more than 155 people in total have now died in the attacks. Another 370 were wounded.
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