(MANCHESTER) - A British Euro MP caught up in the terror attacks in Mumbai was greeted by emotional scenes on Friday when he arrived in Manchester.

Sajjad Karim, who was part of a European Parliament trade delegation staying at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in India's financial capital when gunmen burst in, embraced his two children while friends and family wept in the northern English city.

Upon arriving at Manchester Airport after flying through Paris and London, the 38-year-old Conservative member of the European Parliament said he was "delighted" to be back, and would take a few days to spend time with his family and reflect on the Mumbai attacks.

"I am delighted and very pleased to be back, and really appreciative of all the messages of goodwill I have had," the MEP for northwest England said.

"It is great to see everybody. I think now I am going to take a few days to reflect and think through things.

"I need a few days to get back with my family and spend some time with everybody and just let things settle down."

When gunmen began firing in the luxury hotel in India's financial capital, Karim and other guests took refuge in a basement restaurant and barricaded the doors.

Early Saturday in Mumbai, Indian commandos were battling to end the assault, carried out by suspected Pakistan-based Islamic militants, which has left up to 155 dead.

Security forces were fighting it out in the Taj Mahal hotel, where a tiny group of heavily armed gunmen were engaged in a fight to the death as the more than 52-hour-old battle entered its final stage.

Earlier, elite troops abseiled from helicopters and stormed a Mumbai Jewish centre and killed two gunmen -- only to find five dead Israeli hostages, including a US-based rabbi and his wife.

Describing his experience of the attacks, Karim said: "Obviously it was a situation you can never prepare yourself for. Things happened all of a sudden and came out of the blue.

"It is quite a desperate situation. It is an ongoing and developing situation even now. It's simply the sort of thing you just have to get through. There is no other way of describing it."

Karim said he and others took strength from the fact that many of them were going through the ordeal together, adding: "I suppose really the fact that you have no choice but to carry on and make sure you get through this. That is a great strength in itself."

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