MUMBAI - AN Israeli family is being held hostage by gunmen in a Mumbai apartment building following a series of attacks in the city that have killed at least 86 people, police said.

Local residents said a rabbi, his wife and two children live in and own the building, but it was not clear if they were the hostages. Gunfire could be heard from the area, a Reuters reporter on the scene said.

Media reports say gunmen seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch overnight, and that shots have now been heard coming from the building.

Representatives of the New York-based group referred questions to their website, which said the Israeli consulate had earlier been in touch with the rabbi who lived in the house, 'but the line was cut in middle of the conversation. No further contact has since been established'.

Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India?s financial capital, killing at least 101 people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.