17 foreigners killed in Mumbai attacks

NEW DELHI: At least 17 foreigners died in the militant attacks in Mumbai, according to announcements by officials in India and in the victims' home countries.

"Three of those killed were Germans, one Japanese national, one Canadian and one Australian," India's Internal Security Secretary M. L. Kumawat said on Friday.

Kumawat said the information was based on reports from commandos who fought gunmen in two Mumbai hotels and a Jewish cultural centre.

The bodies of five Israeli hostages were also recovered later Friday from the Jewish centre after it was stormed by Indian troops, an Israeli diplomat said.

The US State Department in Washington said two US citizens, a father and daughter, were also among those killed in the attacks.

It identified them as Alan and Naomi Scherr and said they were members of the Synchronicity Foundation, a meditation community in Virginia.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement that two French nationals had died.

The Singapore foreign ministry said Lo Hoei Yen, 28, was killed after she was taken hostage in the Oberoi/Trident hotel.

The previous day a British-Cypriot businessman was named by the British government as among the dead.

Andreas Liveras, 73, was killed hours after he gave an interview describing how he was trapped in the Taj Mahal hotel.

The overall death toll stood at least 130 on Friday evening, but was expected to rise as little information was available about the various scenes of carnage.

More foreign deaths were likely to come to light as the security operation progressed.
Among the injured were victims from China, Oman, the Philippines and several European countries, officials said.

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