Three bomb blasts in Mumbai, 17 Dead, 115 injured

CNN-IBN
Updated Jul 13, 2011 at 07:24pm IST


New Delhi: Three bomb blasts were reported in Mumbai on Wednesday evening in the crowded Dadar, Opera House and Zaveri Bazar areas, police said.

The blasts, that went off within minutes of each other, injured 15.

Police and fire brigade rushed to the spot. The incident happened at 7:10 pm on Wednesday.
Three bomb blasts in Mumbai, 15 injured

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Near simultaneous blasts kill at least 13 in India's Mumbai

13 Jul 2011 15:59

Source: reuters // Reuters

(New throughout)

By Jui Chakravorty and Rajendra Jadhav

MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters) - Three bomb blasts rocked crowded districts of Mumbai during rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, a senior official said, in the biggest attack on India's financial capital since 2008 assaults blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

India has remained jittery about the threat of militant strikes, especially since the 2008 attacks which killed 166 people and raised tensions with arch rival Pakistan.

At least 81 people were wounded on Wednesday, Prithviraj Chavan, the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, told CNN-IBN.

"The vehicles used were scooters and motorcycles (in the attacks)," he said. Television channels also said an improvised explosive device was placed in a car, suggesting the work of local groups rather than an international terror network.

Television images showed blaring ambulances carrying away the injured at one of the attack sites. At Dadar in central Mumbai, one of the explosions left car windows shattered and uprooted electric poles.

Police were seen using sniffer digs to look for clues while local people helped paramedics carry away some of the injured.

"We heard a big blast. The building shook, the windows shattered. It was deafening," said Aagam Doshi, a witness of the blast at the Opera House and a diamond merchant in south Mumbai.

"We came outside, and the area was filled with black smoke. There were bodies lying all over the street, there was lots of blood...We saw many bodies missing arms and missing legs."

GOLD AND SILVER MARKETS

One blast occurred at the Opera House, an area full of diamond stores in south Mumbai near where Pakistani-based militants carried out the bloody rampage in 2008.

Another blast, also in south Mumbai, was at the Zaveri Bazaar, a big gold and silver market. The third blast was in the centre of the city.

The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, long focused on fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, was blamed for the 2008 attacks.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned Wednesday's blasts in a statement.

Television footage from CNN-IBN television channel showed debris of twisted metal, motorbikes and cars severely damaged at one suspected blast site.

New Delhi says Pakistan-based groups aid and train militants to carry out attacks against India, a claim Islamabad rejects.

Home-grown militant groups are also active in the country and have in the past few years carried out attacks in large cities.

The home ministry ordered security heightened across the country.

Mumabi has over the years been the target of several attacks, including serial bomb blasts in 1993 that killed at least 260 people at the stock exchange and other areas.

In 2006, more than 180 people died when Islamist militants bombed commuter trains. (Writing by Paul de Bendern; Additional reporting by MUMBAI and DELHI newsrooms; Editing by Malini Menon and Nick Macfie)

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TIMELINE-Major militant attacks in India

13 Jul 2011 16:06

Source: reuters // Reuters

NEW DELHI, July 13 (Reuters) - Three near simultaneous blasts ripped through India's financial city of Mumbai on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, in the biggest attack in the city since 2008 assaults blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Following are some major militant attacks on India in recent years.

March 7, 2006 - At least 15 people are killed and 60 wounded in three blasts in Varanasi. July 11, 2006 - More than 180 people are killed in seven bomb explosions at railway stations and on trains in Mumbai. Islamist militants are blamed. Sept. 8, 2006 - At least 32 people are killed in a series of explosions, including one near a mosque, in Malegaon town, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Mumbai. Feb. 19, 2007 - Two bombs explode aboard a train heading from India to Pakistan; at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, burn to death. May 18, 2007 - A bomb explodes during Friday prayers at a historic mosque in the southern city of Hyderabad, killing 11 worshippers. Police later shoot dead five people in clashes with hundreds of enraged Muslims protesting the attack. Aug. 25, 2007 - Three coordinated explosions at an amusement park and a street stall in Hyderabad kill at least 40 people. May 13, 2008 - Seven bombs rip through the crowded streets of the western city of Jaipur, killing at least 63 people in markets and outside Hindu temples. July 25 - Eight small bombs hit Bangalore, killing at least one woman and wounding at least 15. July 26 - At least 16 small bombs explode in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, killing 45 people and wounding 161. A little-known group called the "Indian Mujahideen" claims responsibility for the attack and the May 13 attack in Jaipur. Sept 13 - At least five bombs explode in crowded markets and streets in the heart of New Delhi, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more. The Indian Mujahideen again claim responsibility. Oct 30 - Eleven bomb blasts rip through Guwahati, the main city of northeastern Assam state. Detonated in quick succession, they kill at least 68 people and wound 335. Nov 26-29 - Coordinated bombing and shooting attacks by 10 gunmen, including on luxury hotels, kill 166 people in Mumbai. India blames the attacks on Pakistan-based militants, and the only surviving gunman says they were members of the group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Feb 10, 2010 - At least eight people were killed in a bomb attack on a restaurant popular with tourists in the western Indian city of Pune. Police investigations focus on LeT and the Indian Mujahideen. April 17, 2010 - At least one person was killed and 15 people were wounded after two bombs exploded outside a packed cricket stadium in the software hub of Bangalore. Police suspect the LeT and other militant groups were involved. Sept 19, 2010 - Gunmen on motorbikes shot at a tourist bus near the main mosque in New Delhi, wounding two Taiwanese visitors, weeks before the city hosted the 54-nation Commonwealth Games. Officials put it down to local gangs and ruled out the involvement of militants. Dec 7, 2010 - A two-year-old girl was killed and several wounded in a blast outside a temple in Varanasi in northern India. (Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Sugita Katyal)