Terror attack on India's MPs

As many as 15 people died and at least 20 were injured today when terrorists attacked the Indian parliament, sparking a fierce gun battle with security forces.

Witnesses said the attack opened with an explosion and heavy gunfire as a group of men armed with AK47 rifles and grenades stormed the upper house at about 11.45am local time.

They gained entry into the red sandstone building through a gate used by the chairman of the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, by pretending to be commandos dressed in plain clothes.

Once inside they began firing indiscriminately as MPs and reporters in the lobby panicked and ran helter-skelter. Opposition MP Renuka Chowdhury said it was a "brutal shock", adding: "Parliament is under siege."

Firing was reported to be continuing inside the building in New Delhi two hours later. The attack comes as England's cricketers continue their tour of the country.

The identity of the terrorist group is not immediately known. Initial reports indicate that at least six terrorists and six police, including one woman officer, were killed and 20 others, including parliament staff, were injured - many critically. A television cameraman was also reported hurt.

Final figures are yet to be confirmed but authorities fear there are more casualties in the building and dozens of stretchers were being prepared at a nearby hospital.

Hundreds of troops in full battlegear took up positions around the parliament, sealing off the area as security forces throughout the area were put on red alert.

Army snipers covered the building as commandos prepared to move in to deal with a possible remaining gunman still thought to be at large in the building's labyrinthine corridors.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was initially reported to be in the complex at the time of the attack but officials later said he had not yet arrived for work. Several ministers and dozens of MPs were in the building, but none was reported injured.

Home minister L K Advani said: "All MPs are safe. There has been no damage to the parliament building. As a nation, the people will be aroused. Our feelings of nationalism and patriotism have been fired. This attack would cost our attackers heavily." He did not identify the group he was referring to.

All streets leading to the parliamentary complex, home to both houses of parliament and almost 800 MPs, were closed. The Prime Minister's office said he was monitoring the situation from an undisclosed location under armed guard.

One MP, R K Anand, claimed security was lax and anyone with a uniform was able to walk past the guards at the gate. He added: "Many lawmakers have their [own] elite security guards and it's easy enough for an outsider to slip in with them. Anybody in a uniform can walk in with an MP."

One local television station reported that bodies were lying on lawns and pavements near the gate. A TV cameraman was shot and police were said to be firing at anyone, including journalists.

Authorities at the scene said a bomb at the complex had yet to be defused.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the country is plagued by a separatist revolt in the disputed state of Kashmir, intermittent political unrest in the rugged northeast and south. India is racked by separatist and communal violence but it is the first time such an attack has been launched on the heavily-guarded parliamentary complex. Two months ago, 38 people died in a suicide-bomb attack on the state assembly in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India's far north.

Several England cricketers initially considered withdrawing from the winter tour, fearing the party might become a terrorist target. Two, Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft, decided to stay at home. The Second Test is currently under way in Ahmedabad, several hundred miles from Delhi.

WORLD NEWS ROUND-UP