World | India
Israel says up to 15 citizens held hostage in Mumbai
The Israeli Foreign Ministry estimated that 10 to 15 Israelis were among the hostages being held in Mumbai by gunmen after a series of attacks in the Indian city.
- Bloomberg
- Published: 08:42 November 28, 2008
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Mumbai: The Israeli Foreign Ministry estimated that 10 to 15 Israelis were among the hostages being held in Mumbai by gunmen after a series of attacks in the Indian city.
"We have reached this number by putting together a puzzle based on information from Indian security forces, media reports and eyewitness accounts," Aviv Shiron, deputy director-general for media and public affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said in a telephone interview.
Israeli officials denied a report that eight hostages were released from the centre. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the reports were incorrect.
Several Israelis, including a rabbi and his wife, were taken hostage at the Chabad-Lubavitcher Centre in Mumbai.
Palmor said they had received reports that an Israeli woman being held captive at the centre had delivered demands by phone from her captors for the release of prisoners.
A woman who worked in the Chabad centre escaped earlier on Friday along with the rabbi's two-year-old son and a cook, said group spokesman Menachem Brod.
"She reported that the rabbi and his wife are alive but that they are unconscious," he said.
Brod said he did not know exactly how many Israelis were being held hostage, nor how many gunmen were in the building.
Attackers stormed the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel in Mumbai, saying they were targeting Americans and Britons.
Palmor said the Israeli consul in Mumbai was assisting Israelis who wanted to return home.
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