Mumbai, Kashmir Blasts Kill and Injure Hundreds

[Guest guest]

July 11, 2006 (Bloomberg) -- Mumbai, India's commercial hub, was

rocked by seven explosions on trains and in commuter stations, killing

as many as 137 people and injuring 450 in the nation's worst terrorist

attack in 13 years.

 

The explosions occurred within 30 minutes starting at 6 p.m., tearing

apart train cars and ripping through rush-hour crowds in this city of

16 million. Mumbai police commissioner A.N. Roy said in a televised

interview that much of the rail network was suspended and phone

services were disrupted.

 

The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, which seeks an end to Indian

control of Jammu & Kashmir state, claimed responsibility, according to

the CNN-IBN television channel. India put all its major cities on

alert after the blasts, the worst since almost 200 people died in 1993

attacks on the Bombay Stock Exchange and commercial landmarks. Mumbai

is home to India's biggest equity and money markets, the central bank,

companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd. and the country's busiest

airport.

 

The blasts "are shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of

fear and terror among our citizens," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

said in New Delhi. "I reiterate our commitment to fighting terror in

all its forms."

 

The attacks hit Khar, Mahim, Mira Road, Jogeshwari, Borivali, Matunga

and Bandra, Roy said. Early rescue attempts were hampered by monsoon

rains, the Aaj Tak channel said.

 

KASHMIR ATTACKS

 

The Mumbai explosions followed grenade attacks earlier today by

suspected Islamic terrorists that killed eight people in Srinagar, the

summer capital of India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Mumbai generates about 5 percent of India's gross domestic product and

contributes more than one-third of the country's tax revenues,

according to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

More than 10 million daily passenger trips are provided by the

suburban railway and the state-run bus service, according to the

authority. Parts of the rail network were shut this evening.

 

"Our priority now is to ensure that every injured person gets prompt

treatment," said Johny Joseph, Mumbai's municipal commissioner, said

in a phone interview.

 

The arterial highways along the length of the island-city were crowded

with people seeking to get home from downtown Mumbai to their homes in

the suburbs, Chief Fire Officer A.D. Jhandwal said in a phone

interview. Emergency wards in hospitals near the blast sites are

crowded with casualties, he said.

 

BLAST SITE

 

Television pictures showed people streaming with blood from the

injuries being carried from railway coaches that had been ripped apart

by the impact of the blasts. In at least one such instance, the metal

roof of the railway platform was pulled off its moorings by the force

of the blast. Appeals for blood donation were broadcast on television

stations.

 

New Delhi, the capital, was rocked by three blasts Oct. 29 last year

that killed at least 59 people in crowded market areas.

 

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that

killed about 3,000 people, terrorists linked to al-Qaeda have targeted

cities around the world, including London and Madrid.

 

London's public-transportation system was rocked by two attacks last

year. Four suicide bombers killed 52 people on July 7 on three subway

trains and a bus. Two weeks later, bombers targeted three trains and a

bus. Their explosives failed to detonate.

 

Train bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004, killed 191 people and

injured more than 1,500. In statements posted on the internet, groups

linked to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the London suicide

bombings and the Madrid attacks.

 

The airport at Mumbai, India's busiest, has been put on "high alert,"

Praful Patel, India's civil aviation minister, said in a phone

interview. "We have to remain alert. Security is being tightened all

over," Patel said.

 

SOURCE: Bloomberg

URL:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5E2vQ0bwtWw&refer=home