Three near-simultaneous explosions have shaken India’s commercial capital Mumbai (Bombay), police say.
Twenty-one people were killed and 113 injured, said Maharashtra state’s Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan. He called the explosions, during Mumbai’s busy evening rush-hour, “a co-ordinated attack by terrorists”.
One explosion was reported in the Zaveri Bazaar, another in the Opera House business district and a third in Dadar district in the city centre. Police sources were reported as saying the explosions were caused by home-made bombs. The attacks are the deadliest in Mumbai since November 2008 when 10 gunmen launched a three-day co-ordinated raid in which 166 people were killed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denounced the bombings and appealed to Mumbai residents “to remain calm and show a united face”.
US President Barack Obama strongly condemned the “outrageous” attacks, and offered “support to India’s efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice”.
High alert
The latest explosions hit the city as workers were making their way home.
The first struck the Zaveri Bazaar at 1854 (1324 GMT), tearing through the famed jewellery market, according to police. A minute later, a second blast hit the busy business district of Opera House, in the south of the city. At 1905, the third bomb exploded in the Dadar area of central Mumbai.
Categories: India
Lets hope Indians get to minutest details before pointing fingers to its neighbour.