The Indian Train Bombings


Devastation. Photo credit: AFP/Indranil Mukherjee

At least 147 are dead in the attack which is said to emulate the modus operandi of Kashmiri “militants”:

Eight bombs hit Bombay’s commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing at least 147 people and wounding more than 400 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. The blasts came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India’s part of Kashmir.

India’s major cities were put on high alert. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convened an emergency Cabinet meeting and said that “terrorists” were behind the attacks, which he called “shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror among our citizens.”

Pakistan, India’s rival over the disputed territory of Kashmir, quickly condemned the bombings.

Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India’s financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart densely packed carriages on trains that police said had either pulled into stations or were traveling between them. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and witnesses said body parts were strewn on the ground.

After meeting with his Cabinet, Maharashtra state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said Tuesday night that the death toll was 147, with another 439 wounded.

Deshmukh, the state’s top elected official, also corrected initial reports of seven blasts, saying there had actually been eight, including two at one station.

For more, Allah has been all over it since it went down this morning.

FILED UNDER: Asia, Terrorism, , , ,
Greg Tinti
About Greg Tinti
Greg started the blog The Political Pit Bull in August 2005. He was OTB's Breaking News Editor from June through August 2006 before deciding to return to his own blog. His blogging career eventually ended altogether. He has a B.A. in Anthropology from The George Washington University,

Comments

  1. rama says:
  2. Cernig says:

    Hi Greg,

    The Indian authorities are attributing the attacks to two Islamist groups – both of which they allege are backed by Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI.

    I’ve a feeling what the terrorists (and the ISI) are up to is an escalating series of atrocities hoping for a Hindi backlash – then watch the Iraqi civil war be replayed in IMAX fashion with a real war between Pakistan and India – both of whom have nukes.

    The “most dangerous place in the world” just got even more dangerous.

    Here is my post on the Mumbai bombings, the Pakistani connection and the (literally) possible fallout.

    Regards, Cernig

  3. Bandit says:

    Where are the terrorist cheerleaders blaming bush? Anderson where are you?