It’s a particularly gruesome scene in India tonight as a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen dispatched groups of gunmen around Mumbai to pick off Westerners. The latest update from the Associated Press is that police have killed four gunmen and taken nine into custody; hopefully those arrests can provide some insight into who’s truly behind these Thanksgiving holiday attacks. The death toll is at least 78 with at least 200 more wounded. Here’s background on the attacks from the AP:

“Teams of heavily armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital Wednesday night, killing at least 78 people and taking Westerners hostage, police said.


An explosion followed by a raging fire struck one of the hotels, the landmark Taj Mahal, early Thursday. Screams could be heard and enormous clouds of black smoke rose from the at the century-old edifice on Mumbai’s waterfront. Firefighters were spraying water at the blaze.


The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans, witnesses said. Fires burned and gunfire was heard for hours.


…Police reported hostages being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the best-known upscale destinations in this crowded but wealthy city.


Gunmen who burst into the Taj ‘were targeting foreigners. They kept shouting: “Who has U.S. or U.K. passports?”‘ said Ashok Patel, a British citizen who fled from the hotel.


Authorities believed seven to 15 foreigners were prisoners at the Taj Mahal, but it was not immediately clear if hostages at the Oberoi were Indians or foreigners, said Anees Ahmed, a top state official.”

European Parliament deputy Ignasi Guardans spoke with Spanish public radio while hiding in a restaurant with EU colleagues. “The worst is that it seems that the terrorists are driving around Mumbai shooting in the air and hurling grenades from cars,” he said. “We arrived in Mumbai to have meetings tomorrow (Thursday), and ten minutes after leaving the hotel the shooting began in the same hotel we had left.”

The BBC has footage gathered from Indian networks.