Indian president condemns "mindless" Mumbai attacks

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil condemned the deadly attacks in Mumbai during a visit to Vietnam and said she hoped the hostage standoff would end quickly.

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil condemned the deadly attacks in Mumbai during a visit to Vietnam on Thursday and said she hoped the hostage standoff would end quickly.

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"I condemn in the strongest form the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. This mindless attack is the work of those who have no regard for human life, and are pursuing a path of destruction," she told reporters after meeting her Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Minh Triet.

Indian police have said at least 101 people have been killed, including six foreigners, and another 287 were wounded when small groups of militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades burst into luxury hotels, a hospital and a railway station late on Wednesday and fired indiscriminately.

Several people were being held hostage in two of the top hotels in India's commercial capital.

"I hope that this suffering comes to an end quickly and the perpetrators are brought to book," Patil said.