Mumbai hotels still not secure

Renewed firing was reported Thursday at the famous Taj Hotel, where some of the gunmen involved in an orgy of deadly violence in Mumbai, were holed up.

Details of the firing were not immediately available.

After a night-long wave of explosions and indiscriminate firing at various places in India's financial capital, some of the heavily armed gunmen took refuge both at the Taj and another luxury hotel, the Oberoi, both frequented by foreigners. They were holding a number of hostages.

A heavy contingent of military and police commandos were in position at both hotels to flush out the attackers and free their hostages.

It was not clear how many gunmen were at the Taj and how many hostages they were holding.

The Press Trust of India reported the police as saying they believe there are three to four gunmen at the Taj Hotel.

Early in the morning, several of the Taj guests were rescued, but several dozens more were still believed trapped, the Press Trust of India reported.

There had been a fire at the hotel and smoke was seen billowing from the facility's dome-shaped top.

In a gun battle the previous night, police said at least five suspected terrorists were killed at the Taj hotel.

At the Oberoi, also called the Trident, police said some of the hostages included foreigners. PTI quoted one tourist guide expressed concerns about five Canadians whom he had helped register at the hotel. There were some explosions at the hotel overnight.