Indian commandos last night managed finally to wrest control of two of the three buildings taken by militants in one of the worst terror attacks on Indian soil.

The siege of Mumbai's Oberoi hotel and a Jewish centre ended Friday night, as officials reported that the death toll that had risen to 155 at nine locations with about 327 wounded. Nine gunmen and eight foreigners were among the dead.

A day-long effort to regain control of the Jewish community centre, Nariman House, ended with the news that at least five hostages including a young rabbi and his wife had been killed.

The attempt to storm the building had seen gun battles through the day and commandos sliding down ropes from helicopters hovering above the centre's roof. At one point the Indian forces blew a hole in the outer wall of the centre.

Fierce battles also continued with militants who were still holed up in one of India's most famous luxury hotels, the Taj Hotel, hours after senior Indian officials said the conflict would end.

Elite Indian commandos spoke of fierce battles through the maze of corridors and rooms of the 100-year-old hotel in which the terrorists had a better knowledge of the hotel's layout than security forces.

A senior marine commando officer, dressed in a black balaclava to obscure his identity, said the "very determined and remorseless" militants were well armed and had smuggled weapons into the hotels ahead of their attack, including plastic explosives.

"There is blood all over, bodies all over. We are not looking at those who have been killed, just looking at who is exchanging fire," he said. "They can go on and on [resisting]".

Earlier, 143 people were freed from the Oberoi Police confirmed that at least 30 guests and two others had died in the attack

Analysts said the terrorists had achieved a "significant success" by managing to keep the Indian security forces at bay for so long since the attack began on Wednesday night.

"The attackers received as much attention as they could possibly have hoped for, and the Mumbai outrage can only be described as a very significant terrorist success," said Paul Cornish, head of the international security programme at Chatham House in London.

Ashok Mehta, a retired army commander, said the casualty count in Mumbai could have been halved if the elite National Security Guard had arrived on the scene earlier.

A little-known group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks.

A militant claiming to be one of those holding the Jewish family rang an Indian television channel to offer talks on the release of the hostages while complaining about India's actions in Kashmir. India and Pakistan are at odds over the disputed territory.

Condemnation has flooded in over the attacks, which have brought India's financial capital to a halt, with most businesses closed on Friday.

Those killed included: Ashok Kapur, chairman of India's YES Bank, Loumia Hiridjee and Mourad Amarsy, founders of Princess Tam Tam, a French lingerie label.

The Indian government increased its pressure on Pakistan as the suspected source of the attacks.

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, summoned the head of Pakistan's military spy agency to help assist with the investigation into the identity and motives of the terrorists, which is so far unknown.

Pranab Mukherjee, India's external affairs minister, said preliminary investigation pointed towards Pakistani involvement, in spite of assertions by President Asif Ali Zardari that land under Pakistani control would not be allowed to launch attacks on India.

Pakistan denied involvement.

The attacks have brought into question the future of Mumbai as a global financial centre.

Senior Indian business executives have criticised the government for not taking heed of earlier attacks on the city in 2006 and 1993 to improve the city's infrastructure and emergency services.

The attacks come at a critical time for the Congress party-led government, which faces an election by next May.

The Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata party has campaigned relentlessly against the government's record on security, as police struggling to bring militants to justice despite almost monthly attacks on major cities.

Additional reporting by James Fontanella-Khan in Mumbai