World | India
Serial blasts rock India's IT hub
Eight small bombs exploded in quick succession across the south Indian IT city of Bangalore , killing two people and wounding at least 15.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:41 July 25, 2008
- Police officers and bomb squads inspect the site of a bomb blast near a bus stand in Bangalore on Friday.
- Image Credit: AP
Bangalore: Eight small bombs exploded in quick succession across the south Indian IT city of Bangalore on Friday, killing two people and wounding at least 15, police said.
"In all these cases they have created the blast using timer devices," Bangalore Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari told reporters at the site of one of the blasts. "Explosives have also been used, in quantity equal to one or two grenades."
Bangalore, known as India's Silicon Valley, is one of the world's most prominent centres for software development and is also the capital of its outsourcing industry.
India's home ministry said it suspected "a small militant group" was behind the attacks, but gave no details. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and urged residents to "remain calm and maintain communal harmony," a spokesman said in New Delhi.
Several IT firms, as well as schools, colleges and cinemas, closed after news of the blasts broke. Phone lines were jammed. "I was on my way to office when we heard a noise," witness Arun Daniel told the CNN-IBN TV channel. "It sounded like a cracker. The traffic was blocked, everyone was running around. It was not a severe blast."
The first explosion took place at 1.20pm at Madiwala, about 10km from the city centre where one of the victims, Lakshmi, was killed when splinters from the bomb hit her head.
The last of the blasts took place at 2.35pm at Richmond Town, an upscale residential and business area, five kilometres from city centre. The other places where the bombs went off were Nayandhalli, 10km from the city centre, Adugodi, close to Madiwala, Koramangala, an upscale residential and commercial area 12km from the heart of Bangalore, and Vittal Mallya Road,
Packed with bolts
Bomb experts said gelatine sticks and a concoction of ammonium nitrate in fuel oil had been used to cause some of the explosions. Nuts, bolts and nails were also packed in the bombs. "There were eight explosions of low intensity," Gopal Hosur, joint police commissioner, said.
Indian shares initially extended losses yesterday after reports of the blasts in Bangalore, but later recovered slightly.
Bombings: Major attacks since 2003
- March 13, 2003: A bomb attack on a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11 people.
- August 25, 2003: Two almost simultaneous car bombs kill about 60 people in Mumbai.
- August 15, 2004: Bomb kills 16 people and leaves dozens injured, mostly schoolchildren, in Assam.
- October 29, 2005: Sixty-six people killed after three blasts rip through markets in New Delhi.
- March 7, 2006: At least 15 people killed and 60 wounded in three explosions in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi.
- July 11, 2006: More than 180 people killed in seven bomb explosions at railway stations and on trains in Mumbai, blamed on Islamist militants.
- September 8, 2006: At least 32 people killed in a series of explosions, including one near a mosque, in Malegaon town, 260 km northeast of Mumbai.
- February 19, 2007: Two bombs go off aboard a train bound from India to Pakistan triggering fires that claims at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis.
- May 18, 2007: A bomb explodes during Friday prayers at a historic mosque in Hyderabad, killing 11 worshippers. Police later shoot dead five people in clashes with hundreds of enraged residents protesting against the attack.
- August 25, 2007: Three explosions within minutes of each other kill at least 40 people at an amusement park and a street-side food stall in Hyderabad.
- May 13, 2008: Seven bombs rip through the crowded streets of Jaipur, killing at least 63 people in markets and outside Hindu temples.
- Reuters
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