Near-simultaneous bombings kill at least 17 in terror attack on India's financia

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/police-report-3-explosions-indias-financial-capital-mum\

bai-135732841.html

Near-simultaneous bombings kill at least 17 in terror attack on India's

financial capital

By Muneeza Naqvi,Rajesh Shah, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 12

minutes ago

MUMBAI, India - Near-simultaneous bomb blasts rocked three busy neighbourhoods

during evening rush hour in India's busy financial capital Wednesday, killing 17

people in what the government called an apparent terrorist attack on the city

besieged by militants nearly three years ago.

Blood-covered bodies lay on the streets and people hugged and wept. Others

carried the wounded to taxis. Crowds gathered in the blast areas as police

questioned witnesses, and bomb squads inspected the undercarriages of vehicles

searching for clues and other explosives.

Motorcycles were charred, shopfronts shattered and a bus stop ripped apart. A

photograph showed victims crowding into the back of a cargo truck to be taken to

a hospital.

The first blast struck the Jhaveri Bazaar at 6.54 p.m., tearing through the

famed jewelry market. A minute later, a second blast hit the busy business

district of Opera House, several miles (kilometres) away in southern Mumbai. At

7:05 p.m., the third bomb exploded in the crowded neighbourhood of Dadar in

central Mumbai, according to police.

Because of the close timing of the bomb blasts, " we infer that this was a

co-ordinated attack by terrorists, " Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

Indian officials refused to speculate on who might be behind the blasts. Past

attacks have been blamed on Pakistan-based militants, and Indian officials have

accused Pakistan's powerful spy agency of helping co-ordinate and fund some of

those strikes, including the Mumbai siege.

A U.S. official says there are no claims of responsibility, or firm indication

of which terrorist group might be behind the attack at this time. The official

spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

" The entire city of Mumbai has been put on high alert, " Chidambaram said. " I

would appeal to the people of Mumbai and people all over the country to remain

calm and to maintain peace. "

An eyewitness at Jhaveri Bazaar described two motorcycles exploding in flames

and saw at least six bodies.

" People were shouting 'Help me, help me,' " the man told Headlines Today

television.

Another witness showed cellphone clips of several bodies sprawled across the

street to the NDTV news station.

Prithviraj Chavan, the top official in the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai

was located, said the blasts killed 17 people and wounded 81 others. Chidambaram

said the toll was likely to rise.

The blasts marked the first major attack on Mumbai since 10 militants laid siege

to India's financial capital for 60 hours in November 2008.

That attack, which targeted two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a busy train

station, killed 166 people and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.

Peace talks were suspended and resumed only recently.

Pakistan's government expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries soon

after Wednesday's blasts were reported.

Some media incorrectly reported the blasts happened on the birthday of Ajmal

Kasab, the only surviving gunmen from the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Kasab, who was

sentenced to death in Mumbai, was born on Sept. 13.

Mumbai has been on edge since the 2008 attack. In December, authorities deployed

extra police on city streets after receiving intelligence that a Pakistan-based

militant group was planning an attack over New Year's weekend. Police conducted

house-to-house searches in some neighbourhoods for four men who authorities

believe entered the city to carry out a terrorist attack, and computer-aided

photographs of the four suspects were released.

In March 2010, Mumbai police said they prevented a major terrorist strike after

they arrested two Indian men, who, police said, were preparing to hit several

targets in the city. In September, police issued a terror alert for the city

during a popular Hindu festival.

___

Naqvi reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Ravi Nessman in New

Delhi and Dozier in Washington contributed to this report.