Islamic group claims India blasts

AHMADABAD – An obscure Islamic group claimed responsibility for a series of synchronised explosions that killed at least 45 people in western India, warning of “the terror of Death” in an e-mail sent to several television stations minutes before the blasts.

Another unexploded bomb was found and defused early yesterday, said the city’s police commissioner, OP Mathur. He said police had detained 30 people.”In the name of Allah the Indian Mujahideen strike again! Do whatever you can, within 5 minutes from now, feel the terror of Death!” said an e-mail from the group sent to several Indian television stations minutes before the blasts began.The e-mail’s subject line said “Await 5 minutes for the revenge of Gujarat,” an apparent reference to 2002 riots in the western state which left 1000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.The historic city of Ahmadabad was the scene of much of the 2002 violence.Saturday’s e-mail, sent from a Yahoo account and written in English, was made available to AP by CNN-IBN, one of the TV stations that received the warning.State government spokesman Jaynarayan Vyas said 45 people were killed and 161 wounded when at least 16 bombs went off on Saturday evening in several crowded neighbourhoods.The attack came a day after seven smaller blasts killed two people in the southern technology hub of Bangalore.Investigators in Surat, a city about 160 miles south of Ahmadabad, found a car carrying detonators and a liquid that police suspect may be ammonium nitrate, a chemical often used in explosive devices, city police Chief RMS Brar told reporters.Cities around the country were put on alert and security was stepped up at markets, hospitals, airports and train stations.The e-mail was sent by a group calling itself Indian Mujahedeen which was unknown before May, when it said it was behind a series of bombings in Jaipur, also in western India, that killed 61 people.In its e-mail, the group did not mention the bombings in Bangalore and it was not clear if the attacks were connected.”An e-mail was received by many news organisations.We are inquiring into that.We haven’t traced it yet,” city police Chief AN Roy said.The Saturday bombs went off in two separate spates.The first, near a busy market, left some of the dead sprawled beside stands piled high with fruit, next to twisted bicycles.The second group of blasts went off near a hospital.Nampa-APHe said police had detained 30 people.”In the name of Allah the Indian Mujahideen strike again! Do whatever you can, within 5 minutes from now, feel the terror of Death!” said an e-mail from the group sent to several Indian television stations minutes before the blasts began.The e-mail’s subject line said “Await 5 minutes for the revenge of Gujarat,” an apparent reference to 2002 riots in the western state which left 1000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.The historic city of Ahmadabad was the scene of much of the 2002 violence.Saturday’s e-mail, sent from a Yahoo account and written in English, was made available to AP by CNN-IBN, one of the TV stations that received the warning.State government spokesman Jaynarayan Vyas said 45 people were killed and 161 wounded when at least 16 bombs went off on Saturday evening in several crowded neighbourhoods.The attack came a day after seven smaller blasts killed two people in the southern technology hub of Bangalore.Investigators in Surat, a city about 160 miles south of Ahmadabad, found a car carrying detonators and a liquid that police suspect may be ammonium nitrate, a chemical often used in explosive devices, city police Chief RMS Brar told reporters.Cities around the country were put on alert and security was stepped up at markets, hospitals, airports and train stations.The e-mail was sent by a group calling itself Indian Mujahedeen which was unknown before May, when it said it was behind a series of bombings in Jaipur, also in western India, that killed 61 people.In its e-mail, the group did not mention the bombings in Bangalore and it was not clear if the attacks were connected.”An e-mail was received by many news organisations.We are inquiring into that.We haven’t traced it yet,” city police Chief AN Roy said.The Saturday bombs went off in two separate spates.The first, near a busy market, left some of the dead sprawled beside stands piled high with fruit, next to twisted bicycles.The second group of blasts went off near a hospital.Nampa-AP