Deadly blasts hit India's Hyderabad Indian officials say at 11 people have been killed and another 50 injured in two explosions in the southern city.
Last Modified: 21 Feb 2013 18:16 One of Thursday's explosions is believed to have gone off as people were leaving a cinema in Hyderabad [AFP] At least 11 people have been killed and 78 people injured after two bomb blasts struck the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Indian officials say. The blasts on Thursday were about 10 minutes apart and occurred near a cinema hall and a bus station. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed punishment of those responsible for the "dastardly act", which came with the nation on alert after the recent hanging of a separatist unleashed protests in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir. The bombs targeted a mainly Hindu district in Hyderabad, a southern hub of India's computing industry which has a large Muslim population. It is believed that one of the explosions went off as people were leaving the cinema, Sohail Rahman, Al Jazeera's South Asia correspondent, reported from New Delhi. He said quoting local media that as many as 15 people might have died while the injured were being taken to nearby hospitals. "The devastation is pretty widespread. This part of the city is a very popular bazar area, very popular with young people when they are going out in the evening," he said. Local police said they were trying to determine the cause of the explosions. Al Jazeera's Nilanjan Chowdhury, reporting from New Delhi, said local media had reported a threat two days ago. "Two days ago there was an alert from the intelligence agencies, and it was sent out to all the states in India, but there was no specific intelligence as to what might happen," he said. The situation in India has been tense, with trade union strikes entering their second day and the arrest of several suspected members of the armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba in recent days. The explosions came on the same day as India's parliament opened for its crucial budget session, amid tensions following the hanging earlier this month of Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist. The execution of Guru, who had been convicted of helping to plot a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament that left 10 people dead, has driven up tensions in Indian-administered Kashmir. Ranjan Mathai, India's foreign secretary, said the culprits were not known but did not rule out foreign involvement. "I am not sure there is any evidence it could be homegrown terrorism," he said. "We have had a number of attacks which have been traced to inspiration or leadership outside the country." Source: Al Jazeera and agencies ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
