India violence raises concerns in Israel

MUMBAI, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The Israeli Consulate in Mumbai Thursday searched for missing Israeli nationals after a night of deadly terrorist violence in the Indian financial capital.

Consular officials visited a number of city hospitals and other places to look for any injured or missing nationals, the Press Trust of India reported, quoting Israel Radio.

The Israeli concern stems from the fact that some of the buildings in Mumbai are owned by the "Chabad," Jewish movement, the PTI report said. One of them, the Chabad House, is popular with Israeli tourists.

The Chabad on its Web site said it was concerned about the welfare of its Mumbai representatives, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, as they had not been heard from after the attacks, PTI said.

The attacks, which included explosions and indiscriminate firing by the gunmen, killed and wounded more than 300 people.

Among those killed were 11 police officers, including the chief of Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad.

Some of the gunmen were now reported to be holed up with hostages in Mumbai's two luxury hotels, the Taj and the Oberoi. Indian military commandos had surrounded the facilities.

Some India media quoted a witness as saying the attackers had sought people with British and U.S. passports.