Police marksmen ran for cover as shots rang out inside the parliament building

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A group of gunmen has broken through tight security to attack the parliament building in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

At least 12 people have been killed and 22 injured in the attack.

There were about 100 members of parliament in the building at the time, although none is believed to have been hurt.

The gunmen are thought to have used a fake identity sticker to get through tight security surrounding the parliament complex.

Wearing military-style fatigues, they burst into the area in front of the parliament just before noon local time (0630 GMT).

Witnesses said one was wearing explosives strapped to his body and blew himself up soon after the men broke in.

A gun battle began between the attackers and police, in a dramatic hour-long standoff broadcast live on television.

Indian government officials said the remaining four gunmen were killed in the fighting, along with six police officers and a gardener.

Parliamentarian Kharbala Sain was in the building when the attack began.

"I heard a cracker-like sound near the entrance, then I saw people running helter-skelter," he said.

"I saw many people firing at the same time. I couldn't make out who was who. I couldn't understand who the terrorists were and who the police were. My mind went blank."

The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, made a televised address to the nation shortly after the attacks, and was quick to denounce the militants.

"This was not just an attack on the building, it was a warning to the entire nation," he said. "We accept the challenge."

No group has admitted carrying out the attack, which comes just two months after a similar assault on the Kashmir state assembly in Srinagar, in which 38 people died.

Many have suggested that Kashmiri militants may also be behind today's attack.

Some politicians have called for action against Pakistan, suspected in some quarters of arming and training the militants.

The two countries have fought two wars over the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir since independence in 1947, and came to the brink of a third war in 1999.

But Pakistan has condemned the attack and denied any involvement. It says it will act on any credible proof of the involvement of militant groups based on their soil.  

Monkey Able was one of a pair sent into space six months later which survived

The squirrel monkey named Gordo survived a 300 mile journey into space and then travelled more than 1,500 miles in the rocket until it dropped in the South Atlantic.

A technical problem with the recovery gear meant a parachute failed to open and the nose-cone sank taking Gordo with it. The US Army abandoned the search after six hours.

Gordo's condition was monitored by the Pentagon, which said the monkey suffered no significiant adverse physical effects during the time it was weightless.

The 50 ton Jupiter AM-13, which usually carries intermediate-range missiles, was fired by the army from Cape Canaveral in Florida this morning. The flight lasted 15 minutes.

Gordo, a South American breed of monkey about one foot (30cm) tall and weighing between two and three pounds (1-1.5kg), was chosen because it has a similaranatomicalmake-up to man and is also very sensitive to changes in temperature.

US defence officials say the breathing of the monkey slowed down after take-off and its pulse became slightly irregular, but both quickened as the missile gained speed and once the nose-cone was beyond the pull of earth's gravity they returned to normal.

Gordo wore a leather-lined plastic helmet. He was strapped on a moulded rubber bed with his knees drawn up to resist the strains of gravity.

The monkey was insulated against temperature changes with foil and fibre glass. He had a thermometer under his armpit, a microphone listened to his heartbeat and other instruments detected his breathing.

There have been angry protests from animal rights groups about the decision to send Gordo into space.

The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said only inanimate objects should be used for such tests. The British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also expressed "grave concern and apprehension".

But the US Defense Department insists the experiment was an invaluable step in preparing for man's first venture into space. They say the monkey's make-up is so similar to man's there is now no reason humans cannot undertake similar flights in future.

Gordo is not the first animal to have ventured into space, but he is the first primate to have flown so high.

anatomical: of or relating to the structure of the body（解刨学的）