Death toll in India train bombings at 131
By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM
BOMBAY, India - Seven bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing 131 people and wounding more than 300 in what authorities called a well-coordinated terrorist attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the bombings, which came in quick succession — a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants.
India's major cities were put on high alert after the blasts. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency Cabinet meeting and said that "terrorists" were behind the attacks.
Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India's financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart train compartments as authorities struggled to treat the wounded amid heavy monsoon downpours. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and witnesses said body parts were strewn near stations.
Luggage and debris were spattered with blood. Survivors clutched bandages to their heads and faces, and some frantically dialed their cell phones.
An Indian news agency put the death toll at 131. Bombay Police Chief A.N. Roy said on Indian television that more than 300 were injured.
"We are busy in the rescue operation. Our first priority is to rescue the injured people," Roy said. Indian television showed video of bystanders carrying victims to ambulances and searching wreckage for survivors and bodies.
In Washington, the State Department said it had no information about whether there were any American casualties.
A senior Bombay police official, P.S. Pasricha, said the explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Bombay is located, said bombs had caused all seven blasts.
The Bombay bombings came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of
Kashmir.
Police also reportedly carried out raids across the country following the Bombay blasts. One TV report said a suspect was in custody.
Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had had some information that an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known."
The first explosion hit the train at a railway station in the northwestern suburb of Khar, said a police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
India's CNN-IBN television news, which had a reporter aboard one train, said a blast struck a first-class compartment as the train was moving, ripping through the compartment and killing more than a dozen people.
Some of the injured frantically dialed their cell phones.
Another CNN-IBN reporter said he had seen more than 20 bodies at one Bombay hospital.
The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the blasts had hit first-class cars.
Pranay Prabhakar, the spokesman for the Western Railway, said all train service had been suspended and appealed to the public to stay away from stations in the city of 16 million people — India's principal port on the Arabian Sea.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned upon independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir.
Dozens of militant groups have been fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, demanding the mostly Muslim region's independence, or its merger with Pakistan.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry late Tuesday strongly condemned the Bombay attacks.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf offered condolences over the loss of life, the Foreign Ministry said, adding: "Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively."
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of training, arming and funding the militants. Islamabad insists it only offers the rebels diplomatic and moral support.
After coming close to fighting a fourth war in 2002, Pakistan and India embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including their conflicting claims to all of Jammu-Kashmir.
Accusations of Pakistani involvement in a 2001 attack on India's parliament put the nuclear-armed rivals on the brink of a fourth war. But since then, Pakistan and India embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including their conflicting claims to all of Jammu-Kashmir.
My condolences to the victims and their families. I hope they are well looked after. Nothing can justify this savageness.
By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM
BOMBAY, India - Seven bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing 131 people and wounding more than 300 in what authorities called a well-coordinated terrorist attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the bombings, which came in quick succession — a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants.
India's major cities were put on high alert after the blasts. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency Cabinet meeting and said that "terrorists" were behind the attacks.
Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India's financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart train compartments as authorities struggled to treat the wounded amid heavy monsoon downpours. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and witnesses said body parts were strewn near stations.
Luggage and debris were spattered with blood. Survivors clutched bandages to their heads and faces, and some frantically dialed their cell phones.
An Indian news agency put the death toll at 131. Bombay Police Chief A.N. Roy said on Indian television that more than 300 were injured.
"We are busy in the rescue operation. Our first priority is to rescue the injured people," Roy said. Indian television showed video of bystanders carrying victims to ambulances and searching wreckage for survivors and bodies.
In Washington, the State Department said it had no information about whether there were any American casualties.
A senior Bombay police official, P.S. Pasricha, said the explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Bombay is located, said bombs had caused all seven blasts.
The Bombay bombings came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of
Kashmir.
Police also reportedly carried out raids across the country following the Bombay blasts. One TV report said a suspect was in custody.
Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had had some information that an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known."
The first explosion hit the train at a railway station in the northwestern suburb of Khar, said a police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
India's CNN-IBN television news, which had a reporter aboard one train, said a blast struck a first-class compartment as the train was moving, ripping through the compartment and killing more than a dozen people.
Some of the injured frantically dialed their cell phones.
Another CNN-IBN reporter said he had seen more than 20 bodies at one Bombay hospital.
The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the blasts had hit first-class cars.
Pranay Prabhakar, the spokesman for the Western Railway, said all train service had been suspended and appealed to the public to stay away from stations in the city of 16 million people — India's principal port on the Arabian Sea.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned upon independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir.
Dozens of militant groups have been fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, demanding the mostly Muslim region's independence, or its merger with Pakistan.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry late Tuesday strongly condemned the Bombay attacks.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf offered condolences over the loss of life, the Foreign Ministry said, adding: "Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively."
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of training, arming and funding the militants. Islamabad insists it only offers the rebels diplomatic and moral support.
After coming close to fighting a fourth war in 2002, Pakistan and India embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including their conflicting claims to all of Jammu-Kashmir.
Accusations of Pakistani involvement in a 2001 attack on India's parliament put the nuclear-armed rivals on the brink of a fourth war. But since then, Pakistan and India embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including their conflicting claims to all of Jammu-Kashmir.
My condolences to the victims and their families. I hope they are well looked after. Nothing can justify this savageness.
