MUMBAI - Fresh firing was heard Thursday in the vicinity of a Mumbai hotel where a militant group has taken guests hostage, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

The reporter said shots rang out from the northwestern side of the luxury Trident/Oberoi hotel after the military and police began an operation to free the estimated 200 people trapped inside.

Senior Mumbai police officer Sanjay Barve said 14 people had been recently evacuated from the building by officers. Army and commandos were still inside, he added.