Indian Forces Battle Gunmen in Effort to Rescue Hostages

Gunmen Attack Tourist Areas in India

Gunmen attack popular tourist sites in Mumbai, India, killing dozens and taking hostages.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

MUMBAI, Nov. 28 -- A father and daughter from Virginia were among at least 145 people killed in the brazen attacks on luxury hotels and other sites in this seaside city, which began late Wednesday and had not been fully controlled nearly 48 hours later. At a Jewish outreach center, a young Israeli American rabbi, his wife and three others also were killed.

Hundreds of hostages were evacuated from two luxury hotels Friday, as police commandos struggled to wrest control of the buildings from bands of gunmen who had staged what appeared to be carefully orchestrated strikes on high-profile targets.

As the government of India consulted with counter-terrorism officials worldwide, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee pointed a finger directly at Pakistan, India's neighbor and longtime rival, saying: "Based on preliminary information, and prima facie evidence we have, elements of Pakistan are linked to this."

Indian officials told reporters two gunmen had been captured who were British citizens of Pakistani origin.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned India not to "be jingoist" and said the two nuclear armed countries "are facing a common enemy, and we have to join hands to defeat this enemy."

The prime ministers of both countries were slated to confer Friday night.

The Virginia father and daughter who were killed were identified as Alan Scherr, 58, and Naomi Scherr, 13. They were members of Synchronicity, a spiritual community in central Virginia that promotes high-tech meditation and a holistic lifestyle, and had traveled to India on a spiritual mission with about two dozen others.

President Bush issued a statement this afternoon saying he was "deeply saddened that at least two Americans were killed and others injured" in Mumbai. "We also mourn the great loss of life suffered by so many people from several other countries, and we have the wounded in our thoughts and prayers," he said. "My Administration has been working with the Indian government and the international community as Indian authorities work to ensure the safety of those still under threat."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Mukherjee on Friday afternoon about the situation in Mumbai, a State Department spokesman said, while Undersecretary of State William Burns spoke with Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

Indian police said they had defeated the gunmen at the Oberoi Hotel and were rooting out a small number of armed attackers at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, evacuating more than 200 hostages from both hotels in the process. Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Ghafoor said police teams had found 30 bodies inside the Oberoi by midday Friday.

Hundreds of people were reported injured at the hotels and the other targeted sites -- including a movie theater, two hospitals, a train station, the historic Leopold Cafe and the Nariman House, a Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish outreach center that offers Jewish classes, prayer services and kosher food to locals and travelers from around the world. Two journalists were reported hurt in the skirmishes that followed the attacks, either from flying shrapnel or a passing bullet.

At the Nariman House, a daylong rooftop assault by commandos culminated in an explosion late in the day, followed by a flurry of police and military activity. Security officials on the scene said five hostages were found dead inside the building.