In a suspected terror attack, Mumbai, the financial capital of India, was rattled during the evening rush as three bombs ripped through crowded places within minutes of each other, killing dozens and injuring many more. Indo-Pak relations are likely to be the first casualty.
Initial reports suggest that at least 20 people have lost their lives and more than 100 suffered injuries in what the Indian home minister termed “a coordinated terror attack”. It is feared this toll could go up further. The attackers seem to have targeted the middle-class and office goers as the blasts were timed around 6:45pm in heavily populated areas. India’s Home Secretary, R.K. Singh said one of the bombs was planted inside a car, the other on a motorcycle.
The attacks are the worst in Mumbai since November 2008, when Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants raided the city and created mayhem in multiple locations in the city in which 166 people were killed. While it is too early for official confirmation to come, media reports quote intelligence sources as saying the explosions are the handiwork of the deadly Indian Mujahideen outfit, which is believed to be working closely with LeT.
In 2006, about 200 people had lost their lives and 700 suffered injuries when seven bombs in Mumbai trains went off within 11 minutes of each other.