A series of synchronized bomb blasts rocked New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens more in some of the busiest market areas of the Indian capital. Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said five bombs had gone off, and Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil put the death toll at 18, with many more injured. The five blasts of varying intensity included two at Connaught Place -- the city's largest financial and commercial centre -- and two more at the busy, upmarket shopping district of Greater Kailash.
A Muslim militant outfit, Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the bombings in an e-mail. The group has claimed recent bomb attacks in other Indian cities. India's television network NDTV quoted the e-mail as saying, "In the name of Allah, the Indian Mujahideen has struck back again. Do whatever you want. Stop us if you can."
Police in Greater Kailash searched for survivors among a mess of mangled motorcycles and shattered glass from vehicles caught in two blasts that went off within seven minutes of each other.
President Pratibha Patil denounced what she described as a "mindless act of violence."
Police said two unexploded bombs had been found in Connaught Place -- one in a cinema -- and a third near India Gate, one of the country's most iconic landmarks. Both locations are popular with international tourists.
An explosive expert with one of the bomb disposal units said the devices appeared to have been packed with steel ball bearings and nuts and bolts "to cause maximum harm."
Triple blasts in New Delhi in October 2005, blamed on Pakistan-backed Islamic rebel groups, claimed nearly 70 lives, while a 2001 attack on India's national parliament complex also blamed on Muslim militants killed 14 people.
The Indian Mujahideen group had claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings in July that killed at least 45 people in the western commercial city of Ahmedabad.