Indian commandos have killed the last Islamist gunmen barricaded in Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel, ending a three-day battle that has left at least 195 people dead and wrecked landmarks across the city.
Heavy gunfire was heard and flames leapt from the windows of the historic waterfront hotel as troops from India's crack Black Cats unit engaged in a running battle with the remaining terrorists through rooms and corridors this morning.
Shortly afterwards, the Mumbai police chief, Hasan Gafoor, said his force had regained control of the hotel, where the terrorists were believed to have used hostages as human shields. At least three militants and one soldier were killed, said the Indian special forces chief, Jyoti Krishna Dutt.
The death toll of foreigners today reached 18, including a father and daughter from the US in India for a yoga retreat. British officials said at least 100 Britons were caught up in the attacks, with more than 40 held hostage or forced to hide in their rooms to save their lives.
At least 10 young men heavily armed with rifles and grenades attacked Mumbai on Wednesday night, some landing by boat. They picked targets popular with westerners, including a Jewish house of prayer, and dug in for sieges at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi-Trident hotels. More than 300 people have been injured.
Nine militants had been killed overall, Indian police said. Another man who was arrested claimed to belong to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, which was linked to the Mumbai railway bombings of 2006.
India has blamed the present attack on "elements" from Pakistan, and Islamabad did little to ease rising tensions when it backtracked today on a promise to send to India the chief of its spy service, Inter-Services Intelligence.
The Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, has condemned the attacks and his country's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, promised full cooperation, telling reporters in New Delhi: "We are not responsible for this, nor is it in our interest to get involved in something like this."
The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, warned of "a cost" if Pakistan did not act to stop its territory being used as a launchpad for Islamist militant attacks.
The militants may have reconnoitred the hotels by checking in as guests, Indian newspaper reports said today. They appeared to be well trained and "very, very familiar" with the layout of the hotel, an army general said.
"At times we found them matching us in combat and movement. They were either army regulars or have done a long stint of commando training," a commando told the Hindustan Times.
A bag found in the Taj Mahal hotel contained 400 rounds of ammunition, grenades, identity cards, rations, $1,000 (£650) in cash and international credit cards, indicating a meticulously planned operation.
The terrorists were "very determined and remorseless", said the commander of the Indian commando unit, and the fact the Taj was full of terrified civilians made it difficult for his men to fire on the militants. "To try to avoid civilian casualties we had to be so much more careful," he said.
At the Oberoi-Trident hotel, commandos cleared the last of the gunmen yesterday afternoon, freeing 200 exhausted guests including a number of Britons. They found 24 bodies.
At the Jewish house of prayer, five hostages were killed as it was retaken by Indian special forces who abseiled onto the roof from a helicopter.
The British government, meanwhile, was investigating whether two of the attackers could be British citizens of Pakistani origin. Asked about the possibility of any British link to the Mumbai attacks, Gordon Brown said it was "too early" to reach any conclusions.
