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| India-Pakistan | |
| 30 dead, 90+ injured as five blasts hit Indian capital | |
| 2008-09-13 | |
| AT least five bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded markets and streets in the heart of India's capital New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and injuring scores more, police say. The Indian Mujahideen militant group, which says it has carried out several major attacks in recent months, sent an email to local television stations saying it was responsible for the blasts. Police and witnesses said two went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. Others exploded in busy markets around the city, within minutes of each other. "Ten people have died so far," Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal told reporters, adding that two more bombs were found and defused. "They do not seem to be of very high intensity." Hundreds of people have been killed in a wave of bombings in India in recent years, with targets ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains. Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India, but say local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.
"Around 6:30 pm we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running all over the place," said Chanchal Kumar, a witness whose shirt was soaked in blood of several victims he helped shift into ambulances. "There were about 100-200 people around this place," he said. Other injured people were carried away in police vans while a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw parked near one dustbin was badly damaged, witnesses said. "It was a huge blast," said another witness, Sanjeev Gole. "I was around the corner from the road. I came running down and I saw at least four to five people lying on the road." Broadcasts showed the aftermath of the explosion in the Ghaffar Market area of Karol Bagh, which is a busy area full of electronics shops and is packed at weekends. Badly damaged cars with windows shattered and mangled motorbikes could be seen along with personal belongings, some of them bloodstained, and abandoned shoes. Wounded people were shown being carried away by rescuers at one site, one leaving a trail of blood on the ground. Police controlled crowds of onlookers, some people angry that they had failed to prevent the explosions. Hundreds of people milled around the site of the explosions as police tried to cordon off the area. In July, at least 45 people were killed after a series of bombs ripped through Ahmedabad, the main city of the western state of Gujarat. The attack came a day after bombs killed one woman in the IT hub of Bangalore. | |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #17 If you take the time to read, you'll notice that a group of mujahideen claimed responsibility. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-13 21:31 |
| #16 Any muzzies implicated or is that redundant? |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2008-09-13 21:25 |
| #15 Sorry, I put that in the cure is worse than the disease category. Resources are finite. I'd rather apply them directly to Iran. It's the source. We may agree to disagree on this, but I just don't see those Muslim ridge runners ready to enter modernity like the metropolitan Mesopotamians. We can always play one tribe against another as we did with the Northern Alliance. But we shouldn't do anything permanent or with a long vulnerable tail. Let India go as far east as it wants and let the Persians have what's left. It's not like there's anything worth having. What are the Iranians going to do? Defend it all? Let them have each other. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-13 16:36 |
| #14 You know the old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer? It's not a bad idea to keep an eye on both sides of Iran. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-13 16:28 |
| #13 Probly want to keep a logistics line open to Afghan tho. Why? Are they really any different than all the others? We shouldn't get the idea we owe them something because we conquered the place or defeated them. We just gave one gang an assist in ousting the Taliban. Do we really have a national interest in Afghanistan, especially once Pakistan is devolved? Our communications line is a vulnerability we can't afford. See Elphinstone. It can happen again, especially if southwest Asia falls apart. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-13 16:20 |
| #12 Timely intervention of 4 policemen prevented sixth blast There could have been a sixth blast in Delhi Saturday evening had four policemen not exhibited exemplary presence of mind and courage by timely detection of a live bomb in crowded Connaught Place. Assistant sub-inspector Mahendra Singh, head constable P N Subhash and constables Suresh Kumar and Praveen Sharma swung into action to search the downtown business hub of the national capital within three minutes of the blasts in the Central Park in the Connaught Place. “We were on duty at the Regal Cinema Hall when the blast took place at the Central Park. Immediately we searched the dustbins near the hall and recovered a red ticking bomb,” Sharma said. “Without thinking of the consequence, Suresh immediately broke the black and green wires of the bomb and threw it away. We immediately put sand bags on the bomb,” Sharma said. The presence of mind of the four is commendable seeing that the area around the Regal theatre is one of the busiest in Connaught Place and one deadly blast was averted. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 16:04 |
| #11 Fence it off, let them kill each other. Probly want to keep a logistics line open to Afghan tho. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-13 15:35 |
| #10 Those pesky Lutherans strike again, right? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-09-13 15:14 |
| #9 NS, probably the best solution. Fence it off, let them kill each other. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-09-13 14:22 |
| #8 Or maybe the place should be balkanized along tribal lines so they can fight amongst each other. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-13 14:09 |
| #7 India could rule it if we helped her and Afghanistan clean things up a bit. Or maybe she would want to peel off some western parts and hand them to Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-13 14:02 |
| #6 Somethign is going to have to be done about that cesspool called Pakistan. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-09-13 12:46 |
| #5 |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 12:25 |
#4  |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 12:24 |
#3  |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 12:24 |
#2  |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 12:22 |
| #1 Twenty people have so far been reported killed and 50 injured in 5 serial bomb blasts in crowded places across Delhi. The blasts took place in Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash-I and Barakhamba Road in a span of 40-50 minutes. One explosive device was defused near the high-security India Gate area. Terror outfit Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the blasts. The first explosion rocked Gaffar market area of Karol Bagh in central Delhi at 6.15pm. The explosive was kept near a car. The impact of the blast was so severe that an auto was thrown up several feet. This was followed by the blasts in Connaught Place area. In Barakhamba Road, one of the bombs was suspected to be hidden near Nirmal tower. The second blast in the CP took place near Gopal Das tower. Both the buildings house private offices and banks. The third blast took place in Central Park. In the GK-I blast, ten shops were damaged in the explosion that took place at around 6:40 pm. The bombs were hidden in a dustbin. Preliminary examination of the blast site said that low intensity ammonium nitrate tied to integrated circuit had been used in almost all the serial blasts. Timer devices were used in all the blasts. Two persons have been detained by the police for questioning. The police says that a 12-year-old boy may be able to provide clues. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-13 12:22 |