At least eleven people died today when gunmen stormed the heart of the world's biggest democracy.
Bodies were left sprawling around India's Parliament building in New Delhi after what is being called the worst breach of government security since the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
Delhi police's chief Ajai Raj Sharma said six policemen and an army commando had been killed when the gunmen opened fire.
All six gunmen were also killed in the fighting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was not in the complex at the time, went on television to say India's battle against terrorism had reached its final stage.
An official at the nearby government Ram Manohar Lohia hospital said 17 people were being treated for injuries, including six in critical condition.
Parliament had been sealed and police dogs and bomb squads were searching the building after six men, armed with guns, grenades and at least one bomb, entered the complex in a coordinated attack.
The attackers sneaked toward the red sandstone Parliament complex from three different gates just before noon, he said.
Authorities at the scene said a bomb at the complex had yet to be defused.
Chief Sharma said live grenades were also recovered.
Defence Minister Mr George Fernandes said soldiers had joined New Delhi police at the scene.
A TV cameraman said he saw six men in civilian clothes open fire just before noon at an entrance used by MPs.
A fresh explosion was heard from inside the parliament complex just hours after the attack.
A police officer told reporters outside the building the blast was a controlled detonation of a bomb hidden in a lunchbox which the attackers had brought inside earlier.
Parliament had been adjourned at the time of the attack, but most MPs, including Fernandes and Home Minister Lal Advani, were still inside.
RK Anand, an MP who was present when the attack occurred, said he heard a loud explosion from near the outer gate of Parliament building.
"Then firing took place near the main gate," Mr Anand said.
He said security at Parliament house was lax and anyone with a uniform was able to walk past the security guards at the gate.
"Many lawmakers have their elite security guards and it's easy enough for an outsider to slip in along with them," said Mr Anand. "Anybody in a uniform can walk in with an MP."
Mr Advani said the attack on the country's highest legislative body would spur the Indian people to fight off terrorism.
"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 said.
He did not identify who he was referring to.
Mr Advani said that today's attack on Parliament was similar to an attack on the state assembly in Srinagar, in Kashmir state, where Islamic militants have been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan for 12 years.
Forty people were killed in the October 1st attack by a suicide bomber.
"We will not be cowed down by such attacks. It will only firm our resolve to fight terrorism," Advani said.
Policeman Rajpal Singh, with blood on his jacket that he said came from a wounded civilian he had pulled from the scene, said another "terrorist" was still inside.
As 12 commandos in flak jackets ran towards the building, Singh warned: "The shooting can start again any minute."
Aaj Tak television said five bodies were lying on the lawns or pavements near the gate. The TV cameraman said three Parliament security guards were injured in the initial firing, and one of them was lying on the ground, apparently gravely wounded or dead.
A cameraman was also shot, and Star News TV said police were firing indiscriminately, including at journalists.
Police carried a bleeding man up to a journalist's car and asked help in getting him to the hospital. Six injured people were taken to the government's nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Police and paramilitary commandos sealed off the complex and halted traffic on major roads in central New Delhi, as gunfire continued for more than a half-hour after the first shots were heard.
Hundreds of rounds were fired as police hid behind cars, trees and the corners of the building. The dramatic standoff was broadcast live on most television stations.
AP