Mumbai India hit with terrorist attacks

A series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India have killed at least 80 people and injured at least 250.

The attacks occurred Wednesday evening local time at seven locations including a major railway station and two luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal hotel and Oberoi hotel.

Hostages are believed to be being held at the hotels and mixed reports state that Police may be storming one location (as at 1:30pm PST/ 8:30am AEDT). Other reports state that terrorists are locked into gun battles with police.

Foreign expats and tourists are among those believed to be being held hostage, including American, UK and possibly Australian passport holders. Foreign nationals are said by another report to have been specifically targeted, with an unconfirmed report that terrorists at the Taj hotel were seeking guests with British or American passports.

Terrorist attacks have risen in India over the last two years, but Mumbai has been mostly immune from the attacks, beside an attack in 2006 targeting the local rail system that killed 200. As well as being India’s financial capital, Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) is a large center for tech outsourcing firms.

More when we have it.

Update: reported dead include Mumbai’s chief of the Anti Terror Squad Hemant Karkare and Mumbai Police “encounter specialist” Vijay Salaskar.