As Indian commandos began counting and removing corpses at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels in Bombay this afternoon, one question loomed ominously in the background: where are the British, American and Israeli casualties?

When about two dozen armed militants stormed the two hotels on Wednesday night, they immediately started searching for British and American passport holders, according to several witnesses.

They also attacked a Jewish centre in a residential building and took several Israeli citizens hostage.

The operation appears to have been meticulously planned, with the militants displaying detailed knowledge of the area as well as signs of having extensive military training.

The chief of India's elite Naval Commando Unit told reporters today: “These people were very, very familiar with the hotel layout and it appeared they had carried out a survey before. A very determined lot, remorseless."

Yet only one British citizen has been confirmed dead so far, with seven more being treated for injuries at hospitals in Bombay, according to Sir Richard Stagg, the British High Commissioner to India.

No American casualties have been reported so far, according to the US Embassy.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said this morning that, as far as he knew, there were no more British citizens among the hostages in Bombay.

Marc Sofer, Israel's ambassador to India, said that six Israeli hostages were still being held in the Jewish Centre.

The official death toll so far is 130, of whom just six are foreigners.

The concern for Britain, the United States and Israel is that their citizens could be among the many corpses that commandos and survivors say they have seen scattered around the interiors of the two large hotels.

About 30 unidentified bodies have been removed so far today, but the commando chief said he had seen about 50 bodies, including at least 12 in one room.

Doctors at Bombay's hospitals say dozens more foreigners are in intensive care.

"It's something that has been at the back of our minds," one British official told The Times. "The problem is that it's so hard to get any reliable information."

Indian authorities have yet to release an official list of who was staying in the hotels when the militants struck, who has been confirmed dead, and who is being treated for injuries in hospital.

The foreigners who were outside the hotels during the attack, or who managed to escape, have moved to a number of different places. Some have already left the country.

The British High Commission has established a facilitation centre for British citizens seeking assistance in matters such as obtaining emergency passports, or making travel arrangements.

About 25 people were there today, mostly those who escaped early on, but officials were bracing for more after the evacuation of about 100 more hotel guests, mostly foreigners, today.

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