(http://www.washingtonpost.com/)
(http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3940/0/0/*/x;222407045;0-0;0;45769513;4307-300/250;35523287/35541105/1;u=o_2a_5bCS_5dv1_7c25B8C37505149148_2d6000 01688018013F_5bCE_5d;~aopt=0/ff/ff/ff;~fdr=222142046;0-0;0;4475171;4307-300/ 250;35378650/35396468/1;u=o_2a_5bCS_5dv1_7c25B8C37505149148_2d60000168801801 3F_5bCE_5d;~okv=;dir=worldnode;dir=world;heavy=y;dcopt=ist;;print=y;orbit=y; pos=ad5;del=js;rs=j10420;~aopt=2/1/ff/1;~sscs=?http://www.toyota.com/recall? siteid=OM_SLA_AID1792905_CID4251042) Bombing at bakery in western India kills 8; tourists were apparent targets By Emily Wax and Rama Lakshmi Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, February 13, 2010; 1:00 PM A powerful blast at a popular bakery frequented by tourists killed eight people and injured 33 in the western Indian city of Pune on Saturday, the first attack since the deadly 2008 Mumbai siege that appears to have targeted foreigners. The explosion took place a little after 7 p.m. at the German Bakery in Koregaon Park, a crowded, upscale neighborhood near the _Osho Ashram_ (http://www.osho.com/) , a spiritual center with many Western followers. The ashram was one of the locations canvassed as a potential target by _David Coleman Headley_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111704549.html?nav=emailpage) , who is now on trial in Chicago for plotting terrorist acts. Eyewitnesses told reporters on the scene that there was an unidentified bag at the bakery, which is also near a Chabad House, a Jewish outreach center similar to the one targeted in the Mumbai siege. "We could hear the blast," Rabbi Betzalel Kupchik said in a telephone interview. "Thank God we are fine. We will continue our work here." Early reports say four foreign women were among the dead. Officials were seeking to determine their nationalities and those of the other dead and the injured. The bombing came just one day after _Pakistan_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/pakistan.html?nav=el) agreed to resume high-level talks with _India_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/india.html?nav=el) , the first such dialogue between the nuclear-armed powers since relations were frozen after the Mumbai massacre. In New Delhi, the secretary in the Home Affairs Ministry, Gopal Pillai, confirmed that the explosion was an act of terrorism and said a team from the National Investigation Agency was en route to Pune. Authorities are also investigating who was behind the attack. Some counterterrorism experts are blaming the Indian Mujaheddin, a homegrown terrorist group. Shahzad Ahmad, a suspect in bombings in New Delhi in September 2008 who was arrested last week, had told Delhi police that an Indian Mujaheddin cell was operating in Pune, according to an intelligence official in New Delhi who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Suresh Kalmadi, a member of parliament from Pune, confirmed in a phone interview that the bakery was near the Osho Ashram and the Jewish center. "The bakery is a very old establishment, and all the foreigners keep going there all the time," he said. Kalmadi said the wounded had all been taken to a hospital. "I am just appealing to the citizens to remain alert, but calm," he said. Television footage Saturday night showed damaged walls and furniture at the bakery and shattered windows in nearby shops. Local media reports said the blast may have detonated several nearby gas cylinders, amplifying the damage. A few hours drive from Mumbai, Pune is a leafy cosmopolitan city known for its corporate office parks and outsourcing campuses for software and call-center services.
_______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
