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Indian police hunt for Delhi bombers, question suspects

Other News Materials 14 September 2008 13:53 (UTC +04:00)

( dpa ) - Indian police hunted Sunday for the bombers involved in multiple blasts in New Delhi that killed at least 21 people, the worst terrorist strike in the country since 56 people were killed in the western Ahmedabad city in July.

Five explosions ripped through busy shopping and commercial areas on Saturday evening, killing 20 people and injuring 98. A 15-year-old girl succumbed to injuries on Sunday raising the death toll to 21.

Raids were being conducted across the city as special units of the Delhi police detained 12 suspects for questioning in connection with the attacks.

Senior police officials said initial investigations showed that the explosives and timers used in bombings were similar to the July blasts.

Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat confirmed that several people were detained.

"Several suspects are being questioned but no arrests have been made so far," Bhagat said, adding that police had obtained "vital clues."

Investigators also traced the email sent by a Muslim militant group called the Indian Mujahideen which claimed responsibility for the attacks to the western Mumbai city.

Security agencies believe that the Indian Mujahideen is a front of the banned terrorist group Students' Islamic Movement of India, and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, which have jointly carried out attacks in the past.

The Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the serial bombings in Ahmedabad and others in the northern Jaipur city in May which claimed 63 lives.

Two of the blasts hit Connaught Place commercial area in the heart of Delhi, while two more exploded at the upmarket shopping district of Greater Kailash.

The bombs were planted in dustbins and cycles. Four unexploded bombs were also found and defused on Saturday night.

Relatives thronged city hospitals where victims were admitted.

"We are frightened but angry at the same time," Ashu, a college student whose relative was admitted at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, told reporters.

"These enemies of humanity, whether they be Muslims or Hindus, should be eliminated so they never get a chance to carry out such attacks again," he said.

Relatives of soon-to-be married Kamini, who had come with her fiance Rawat Kashyap to Delhi, said both were killed in the blasts at Connaught Place.

"Both were to get married. They were sitting at a bench at the Central Park unknown to the tragic fate they met," a relative told the PTI news agency.

Indian cities were placed on high alert as additional police were deployed around vital installations, religious places and market areas in major cities.

There was an uneasy calm in Delhi on Sunday as police increased patrols and erected barricades at various parts in the city.

A tight vigil was being maintained at the airports, metro stations, cinema halls, malls, hospitals and other crowded areas.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has criticized the Manmohan Singh government for its failure to tackle terrorism and called for stronger anti-terrorist laws.

India is among the countries worst affected by terrorism. More than 650 people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Indian cities over the past eight years.

The deadliest terrorist attack in recent years was in July 2006, when multiple bombings hit Mumbai's train network, killing 180 people.

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