Mumbai blasts kill 21 in apparent terrorist attack
By Rama Lakshmi
7/13/2011
NEW DELHI -- Three blasts ripped through Mumbai during rush hour [1] Wednesday evening, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 110, Indian officials said. The explosions, which officials described as a terrorist attack, occurred within the space of a few minutes.
The blasts targeted crowded areas of India's financial capital, including a street lined with jewelry shops. At one site, a bomb was placed in a power meter box atop a billboard at a bus stop, police said.
"The blasts occurred at about 6:45 p.m., within minutes of one other. Therefore, we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," said Palaniappan Chidambaram, India's home minister, speaking in New Delhi.
Chidambaram said there was no information on any other blast or threat and that crack commandos and investigative officials were rushed to Mumbai. "The entire city of Mumbai has been placed on high alert," he said.
No group has asserted responsibility for the attacks.
In Washington, President Obama issued a statement denouncing the "outrageous" attacks and pledging U.S. support for India.
The explosions struck the busy middle-class neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai, the jewelry street of Zaveri Bazaar and the upscale Opera House district. Zaveri Bazaar has been the target of two previous attacks.
Television images showed large crowds of onlookers at the blast sites, cars with shattered windows and police officers combing the areas in the rain. One eyewitness showed the TV cameras cellphone photos he had taken of bleeding bodies strewn on the ground.
A police officer in Mumbai said investigators were looking for bomb remnants and conducting preliminary inquiries.
"I have just come from Zaveri Bazaar. There were 20 to 30 people injured. There have been some deaths also," Mumbai's police chief, Arup Patnaik, told reporters in Mumbai. "We have found the IED, an explosive, in an umbrella in Zaveri Bazaar. We are finding out what kind of explosive was used." IED stands for "improvised explosive device."
Patnaik appealed for calm, adding: "We have gone through this ordeal before. I know it is a very difficult situation."
The Zaveri Bazaar was the site of two previous bombings, in 2003 and 1993. "This jewelry market is a vulnerable area, with very crowded, narrow alleys. It is not easy to monitor people's suspicious movements or check who is carrying what in these alleys," said Sanjay Nirupam, a lawmaker from Mumbai.
A 35-year-old woman who was injured in one of the blasts said by phone from the KEM hospital that she felt devastated.
"I was walking from my office to the station to catch a train. When I reached a bus stop, I was hit by a sudden loud explosion," said Luciana, who gave just one name. "Flying shrapnel hit my arms and legs. I was bleeding. I could not understand what was happening."
Mumbai has been the target of eight attacks since 2000, including a terrorist siege [2] in November 2008 in which 10 armed men arrived by sea and attacked two five-star hotels, a train station and a Jewish prayer house, leaving more than 160 people dead.
A lone surviving gunman, of Pakistani origin, is on trial in that case on charges of terrorism, criminal conspiracy and waging war against the Indian state.
"I think we let our guard down when things returned to normal after the last attacks," said Neel Pillai, a banker who lives a few miles from the bomb sites. "We became too complacent. It is very sad. Innocent lives get lost, and our security apparatus gets stuck in red tape," he said in a telephone interview.
Police said the targets appeared to have been carefully chosen to create panic in crowded places just as people were heading home from work.
"The blast occurred when diamond merchants were moving here and there. Evening time, people were leaving for home," an eyewitness told the Times Now news channel. "I saw with my eyes. People were carrying bleeding people, injured and with their legs cut off."
Obama said in a statement issued by the White House: "I strongly condemn the outrageous attacks in Mumbai, and my thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and those who have lost loved ones. The U.S. government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens."
Calling India "a close friend and partner of the United States," Obama added: "The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice." During his trip to Mumbai last year, he said, "I saw firsthand the strength and resilience of the Indian people, and I have no doubt that India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks."
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/28/AR2008112800992.html