Three Saudi diplomats were among 11 Saudis safely evacuated from two Mumbai 5-star hotels where militants were still holed up, early Friday. However, one Saudi man, remains missing, said Muhammad Barri, the Saudi charge d'affaires, by telephone from New Delhi. The three diplomats were evacuated under gunfire from the Trident-Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai Thursday. They were transferred to the Saudi Consulate in Mumbai. The remaining 8 Saudis – one of them a young boy – were staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Trident hotels. They are expected to arrive back in the Kingdom Friday. “We are still looking for a Saudi citizen who has telephoned us (from the Trident) and asked for help to be freed,” Barri said. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has instructed Saudi missions in India to assist Saudi nationals seeking refuge and to fund a return to the Kingdom if desired. Abdul Rahman Al-Eisa, Saudi Consul General in Mumbai, was in the Trident lobby when the heavily armed militants attacked Wednesday night, said Abdul Mon'em Al-Mahmood, Deputy Consul General by telephone. Luckily Al-Eisa managed to slip out of the hotel with some diplomat colleagues before the violence started. An official source Thursday said the Kingdom condemns “in the strongest possible terms” the terrorist attacks that have left at least 101 people dead in Mumbai. Saudi Arabia offers its sincerest condolences to the government and people of India, Saudi Press Agency cited the official as saying. Prince Khalid Bin Saud Bin Khalid Aal Saud, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also strongly condemned the attacks and reconfirmed that Saudi diplomats and nationals in Mumbai are safe. Mumbai remained a war zone Thursday with Indian commandoes fighting to wrest control of two luxury hotels and a Jewish center from suspected Islamist militants, a day after a chain of attacks across Mumbai left at least 119 people dead and the city shellshocked. Nine foreign nationals were among the dead – including a Japanese businessman, an Australian, an Italian and a Briton – while Americans, Israelis and Canadians were said to be among those held. Throughout the day, commandoes brought hostages, trapped guests and corpses out of the hotels in small groups while fires erupted periodically and firefighters battled the flames. State officials said 119 people had died and 288 were injured. The well-planned attacks began Wednesday night and officials said the gunmen were prepared, even carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during the fight. Their main targets appeared to be Americans, Britons and Jews, though most of the dead seemed to be Indians and foreign tourists caught in the random gunfire. The gunmen _ some of whom strode casually through their targets in khakis and T-shirts _ clearly came ready for a siege. “They have AK-47s and grenades. They have bags full of grenades and have come fully prepared,” said Maj. Gen. R.K. Hooda. Ratan Tata, who runs the company that owns the elegant Taj Mahal, said they appeared to have scouted their targets in advance. “They seem to know their way around the back office, the kitchen. There has been a considerable amount of detailed planning,” he told a news conference. Witnesses said the attackers were young South Asian men in their early 20s, most likely Indians, speaking Hindi or Urdu. The attackers appeared to target British and Americans as they sought hostages. Israelis were also among the hostages, a television channel reported, while police said an Israeli rabbi was also being held by gunmen in a Mumbai apartment. Television footage showed gunmen in a pick-up truck spraying people with rifle fire as the vehicle drove down a Mumbai street. The Maharashtra state home ministry said dozens of hostages had been freed from the Oberoi and dozens more were still trapped inside. More than 400 people were brought out of the Taj Mahal, and army forces were still scouring the building for survivors early Friday morning. Authorities said they had killed three gunmen at the Taj and were sweeping the Oberoi in search of hostages and trapped people. Police earlier said they had shot dead four gunmen and arrested nine suspects. They said 12 policemen were killed, including Hemant Karkare, the chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai. Police said an Israeli rabbi was also being held by gunmen at the Jewish center. A state official said commandos have surrounded the center and eight hostages have been released. On Thursday morning, a woman, child and an Indian cook were led out of the building by police, said one witness. The child was identified as Moshe Holtzberg, 2, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, the main representative at Chabad house. The child was unharmed, but his clothes were soaked in blood. Sandra Samuel, 44, the cook who pulled the boy out the building, said she saw Rabbi Holtzberg, his wife Rivka and two other unidentified guests lying on the floor, apparently “unconscious.” Politicians and officials, meanwhile, made allegations of a “foreign involvement”, which could have far reaching consequences. Indian media reports said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility in e-mails to several media outlets. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, blamed “external forces” for the violence – a phrase sometimes used to refer to Pakistani militants, whom Indian authorities often blame attacks on. He said New Delhi would “take up strongly” the use of neighbors' territory to launch attacks on India. “The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of terror by choosing high-profile targets,” Singh said in an address to the nation. Indian television cited an army official as saying that the origin of one of nine terrorists arrested was traced to Faridkot in Pakistan. The Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba denied any role in the attacks, and said it had no links with any Indian group. A militant holed up at the Jewish center phoned an Indian television channel to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages, but also to complain about abuses in Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars. “Ask the government to talk to us and we will release the hostages,” the man, identified by the India TV channel as Imran, said, speaking in Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent. “Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir? "Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims. Are you aware how many of them have been killed in Kashmir this week?” The militants had launched their audacious attack after arrived by boats in Mumbai on Wednesday. The gunmen had fanned out in the heart of the city, firing indiscriminately, and attacking luxury hotels, a landmark cafe, hospitals and a railway station. On Thursday, a militant inside the Oberoi, speaking to Indian television by telephone, said: “Release all the mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled.” The man, who identified himself only as Sahadullah, said he was one of seven attackers inside the hotel, and wanted Islamist militants to be freed from Indian jails. Later, an explosion was heard at the hotel.
