Five hostages have been found dead in a Mumbai Orthodox Jewish community center held by Muslim terrorist attackers, an Israeli diplomat says.

Five hostages have been found dead in a Mumbai Orthodox Jewish community center held by Muslim terrorist attackers, an Israeli diplomat says.Indian police commandos stormed the center Friday in an operation to free it from masked Muslim gunman who occupied the facility as part of a series of coordinated attacks in the Indian financial capital that has killed at least 143 people.The commando raid was still going on late Friday, with the bodies of five Jewish hostages having been recovered from the facility, including those of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, Ynetnews.com quoted diplomat Haim Choshen telling Israel's Channel 2."Apparently the hostages did not remain alive," officials of the Israeli rescue organization Zaka said in a statement without identifying the hostages or saying how many may have died.Paramilitary commandos dressed in blue uniforms slid down ropes from helicopters hovering over the building and stormed inside with guns blazing, the International Herald Tribune reported.Commandos also combed trough the charred Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, battling remaining pockets of militants, with police officials saying they discovered 24 bodies inside the Oberoi.Those killed included six foreigners, at least a dozen police officers and the head of the city's anti-terrorism squad. More than 300 people were wounded in the indiscriminate firings and grenade-type explosions
The head of the elite commando National Security Group (NASDAQ:NSEC) told reporters Friday afternoon two of the remaining terrorists were killed at the Oberoi and that the complex was now under government control.The commandos also recovered unexploded grenades and AK-47 automatic rifles from the hotel, the Times of India reported, adding at least 148 rescued hostages, many of them foreigners, were seen leaving.
Separately, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor was quoted as saying all hostages inside the massive century-old, 800-room landmark Taj Mahal Hotel had been evacuated. There had been another gun battle at the hotel after a night of similar battles and constantly raging fires.Earlier, about 30 bodies were recovered from the Taj, the Times of India reported.The BBC quoted security forces as saying the militants appeared to be familiar with the layout of the hotel. It said security forces recovered a Mauritius identity card as well as guns and money.