Commandos storm Mumbai centre

Indian commandos tried to flush out armed militants in Mumbai Friday, after attacks that have left at least 119 people dead and over 300 wounded.

Indian commandos trying to flush out armed militants in Mumbai on Friday (November 28), more than a day after attacks that have left at least 119 people dead and over 300 wounded.

Sporadic gunfire and explosions continued at a Jewish centre where at least 10 Israelis were trapped or held hostage, while militants still hold hostages at two Mumbai luxury hotels.

Indian forces were dropped by helicopter on the centre's roof early Friday, while commandos have battled often room to room in the hotels, landmarks in the city of 18 million that is the nerve centre of India's growing economic prowess.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pinned the attacks on militant groups based in India's neighbours, usually meaning Pakistan, raising the prospect of renewed tensions.

Pakistan has promised full cooperation and condemned the attacks in which some 25 men with assault rifles and grenades fanned out across the commercial capital Wednesday.

The attacks, targeting hotels and tourist sites, left at least six foreigners dead, while police say at least seven attackers have been killed and nine taken into custody.

Mumbai has faced the biggest chaos since serial bombings in 1993 killed 260 people.

It's financial markets have been closed because of the violence, but the Bombay Stock Exchange, down more than 50 percent this year, and the Indian rupee are expected to face selling pressure once trading resumes.

India's central bank was likely to cut interest rates, perhaps by a full percentage point to 6.5 percent, to try to boost investor confidence.

Dan Sloan Reuters.