CALLING IN THE ANGLO-INDIANS:

Guns, grenades, then a battle to the death in 105-year-old hotel: Special forces units called in to regain control after police realised extent of attacks (Randeep Ramesh in Mumbai and Maseeh Rahman in Delhi, 11/28/08, guardian.co.uk)

A government official said the siege had ended at the Taj Mahal hotel and the last three gunmen there had been killed.

There were conflicting reports about the fate of hostages held at the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, with diplomats denying a government claim that eight hostages had been freed.

As the attacks began, the authorities had been content to rely on conventional police methods to deal with the threat. However, as flames erupted from the Taj Mahal hotel it became clear that India was confronting an enemy unlike anything it had met in the past.

To begin with, police had battled on the streets with militants wearing backpacks on their shoulders and with guns and grenades in their hands. This was a street war they were losing: in the early hours, a gunfight erupted under the glittering lights of Marine Drive, near the lobby of the Trident hotel. A top Mumbai police chief was killed.

The tide of battle only turned with the arrival of the elite national security guard, who landed in Mumbai six hours after the terrorist attack began. They were joined by heavily armed army para commandos and the navy's marine commando force.

These commandos, who train with US navy and British special forces, retook the lower floors of both the Trident and the Taj in the early hours.