18 killed as five blasts hit capital

14.09.2008

Devastation ... at least five bombs exploded in quick succession in New Delhi, killing at least 18 people and injuring many more.

AT least five bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded markets and streets in the heart of India`s capital New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more, police say.

The Indian Mujahideen militant group, which says it has carried out several major attacks in recent months, sent an email to local television stations saying it was responsible for the blasts.

Police and witnesses said two went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. Others exploded in busy markets around the city, within minutes of each other.

Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal said two more bombs were found and defused. "They do not seem to be of very high intensity."

Hundreds of people have been killed in a wave of bombings in India in recent years, with targets ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains.

Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students` Islamic Movement of India, but say local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.

One bomb exploded in a newly constructed park in the centre of the Connaught Place roundabout, built above one of the main stations of the Delhi Metro.

Another went off in a dustbin near a metro station entrance on a main arterial road leading into the area, housing the offices of several foreign banks and multinational companies.

"Around 6:30 pm we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running all over the place," said Chanchal Kumar, a witness whose shirt was soaked in blood of several victims he helped shift into ambulances.

"There were about 100-200 people around this place," he said.

Other injured people were carried away in police vans while a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw parked near one dustbin was badly damaged, witnesses said.

"It was a huge blast," said another witness, Sanjeev Gole. "I was around the corner from the road. I came running down and I saw at least four to five people lying on the road."

Broadcasts showed the aftermath of the explosion in the Ghaffar Market area of Karol Bagh, which is a busy area full of electronics shops and is packed at weekends.

Badly damaged cars with windows shattered and mangled motorbikes could be seen along with personal belongings, some of them bloodstained, and abandoned shoes.

Police controlled crowds of onlookers, some people angry that they had failed to prevent the explosions.

Wounded people were shown being carried away by rescuers at one site, one leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

Hundreds of people milled around the site of the explosions as police tried to cordon off the area.

In July, at least 45 people were killed after a series of bombs ripped through Ahmedabad, the main city of the western state of Gujarat.

The attack came a day after bombs killed one woman in the IT hub of Bangalore.

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Devastation ... at least five bombs exploded in quick succession in New Delhi, killing at least 18 people and injuring many more.

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