MOlivo
07-27-2008, 02:26 AM
(CNN) -- The death toll from the bomb blasts that hit the western Indian city of Ahmedabad has risen to at least 37, city police told CNN on Sunday.
Geetaben and husband Ashwin Patel grieve the loss of family members in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Geetaben and husband Ashwin Patel grieve the loss of family members in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
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The number of injured also has gone up from 88 to at least 162, they added.
All metropolitan areas in India were on high alert, a day after 17 blasts of low intensity went off within a span of 70 minutes and a 6-mile (10-km) radius in eastern Ahmedabad.
One explosion hit a bus stop, while others detonated at a railway station and on a bus. Several also went off at or near hospitals where the injured were being taken.
Authorities traced an e-mail claiming responsibility for the blasts to an apartment in Mumbai, 338 miles (545 km) away, and raided it, CNN's sister network CNN-IBN reported on Sunday.
No arrest has been made, although police reportedly rounded up 30 individuals in connection with the blasts, CNN-IBN added.
The network was among several media outlets and the country's Intelligence Bureau to receive an e-mail, purportedly from the Muslim militant group Indian Mujahedeen, warning about an attack. Video Watch how the media was tipped »
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* Deadly blasts rock Bangalore
* Attacks kill mother, four children in Kashmir
The group has claimed responsibility for two similar attacks in the past nine months in northern India.
But afterward, the Islamic militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJi) -- or the Movement of the Islamic Holy War -- claimed responsibility for the bombings, CNN-IBN said. Video Watch a witness describe what happened »
Cross-pollination between terror groups can make it difficult to separate them, analysts said.
The blasts come a day after nine small explosions went off in the city of Bangalore, CNN-IBN reported. Two people were killed and six injured.
Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat state. Officials there were holding an emergency meeting in the wake of the explosions, CNN-IBN said. Map »
"I appeal to the people of Gujarat to remain calm and not let these terrorists be successful in instilling fear," said Narendera Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, which encompasses Ahmedabad.
Leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the explosions.
Video footage from the scene of one explosion showed charred and twisted bicycles and motorcycles lying on the street as a crowd milled around. At least one of the bombs was on a bicycle, authorities said. Others were in tiffin boxes, a type of lunchbox used by Indian adults.
The blasts began about 6:30 p.m. and lasted until about 7:40 p.m., according to CNN-IBN.
Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility in May for near-simultaneous bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the northwest Indian city of Jaipur. In that claim, the group declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of U.S. policies.
The group also claimed responsibility for near-simultaneous blasts outside courts in three northern Indian cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh in November. More than a dozen people were killed and 80 injured.
In both the Jaipur and the Uttar Pradesh bombings, one of the blasts came from an explosives-laden bicycle.
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In May, security analysts described Indian Mujahedeen as a relatively unknown group. It may be a new home-grown terror network, an alias for an existing group or a foreign militant organization.
Officials said they believe that the goal of the explosions was to create panic, not to kill a large number of people.
Geetaben and husband Ashwin Patel grieve the loss of family members in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Geetaben and husband Ashwin Patel grieve the loss of family members in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Click to view previous image
1 of 3
Click to view next image
more photos »
The number of injured also has gone up from 88 to at least 162, they added.
All metropolitan areas in India were on high alert, a day after 17 blasts of low intensity went off within a span of 70 minutes and a 6-mile (10-km) radius in eastern Ahmedabad.
One explosion hit a bus stop, while others detonated at a railway station and on a bus. Several also went off at or near hospitals where the injured were being taken.
Authorities traced an e-mail claiming responsibility for the blasts to an apartment in Mumbai, 338 miles (545 km) away, and raided it, CNN's sister network CNN-IBN reported on Sunday.
No arrest has been made, although police reportedly rounded up 30 individuals in connection with the blasts, CNN-IBN added.
The network was among several media outlets and the country's Intelligence Bureau to receive an e-mail, purportedly from the Muslim militant group Indian Mujahedeen, warning about an attack. Video Watch how the media was tipped »
Don't Miss
* Indian cities on high alert after blasts
* iReport.com: Send your photos, videos
* Deadly blasts rock Bangalore
* Attacks kill mother, four children in Kashmir
The group has claimed responsibility for two similar attacks in the past nine months in northern India.
But afterward, the Islamic militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJi) -- or the Movement of the Islamic Holy War -- claimed responsibility for the bombings, CNN-IBN said. Video Watch a witness describe what happened »
Cross-pollination between terror groups can make it difficult to separate them, analysts said.
The blasts come a day after nine small explosions went off in the city of Bangalore, CNN-IBN reported. Two people were killed and six injured.
Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat state. Officials there were holding an emergency meeting in the wake of the explosions, CNN-IBN said. Map »
"I appeal to the people of Gujarat to remain calm and not let these terrorists be successful in instilling fear," said Narendera Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, which encompasses Ahmedabad.
Leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the explosions.
Video footage from the scene of one explosion showed charred and twisted bicycles and motorcycles lying on the street as a crowd milled around. At least one of the bombs was on a bicycle, authorities said. Others were in tiffin boxes, a type of lunchbox used by Indian adults.
The blasts began about 6:30 p.m. and lasted until about 7:40 p.m., according to CNN-IBN.
Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility in May for near-simultaneous bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the northwest Indian city of Jaipur. In that claim, the group declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of U.S. policies.
The group also claimed responsibility for near-simultaneous blasts outside courts in three northern Indian cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh in November. More than a dozen people were killed and 80 injured.
In both the Jaipur and the Uttar Pradesh bombings, one of the blasts came from an explosives-laden bicycle.
advertisement
In May, security analysts described Indian Mujahedeen as a relatively unknown group. It may be a new home-grown terror network, an alias for an existing group or a foreign militant organization.
Officials said they believe that the goal of the explosions was to create panic, not to kill a large number of people.