Serial bomb blasts leave 60 dead in India
Pastor Dale Morgan
Serial bomb blasts leave 60 dead in India*
* Story Highlights
* Seven quickfire explosions kill at least 60 people in northwest
Indian city
* Bombs explode within 12 minutes of each other, 150 people also wounded
* Explosions within a small radius in Jaipur's old city, popular
with tourists
* Motorcycles appear to have been used in the attacks, state
minister says
DELHI, India (CNN) -- India is on high alert after a series of
near-simultaneous explosions killed at least 60 people and wounded 150
others in a top tourist spot, government and local officials told CNN-IBN.
Bicycles and rickshaws were strewn about the streets, with pools of
blood nearby, in the northwestern city of Jaipur.
Motorcycles, pieces of which were found at nearly every bomb site,
appear to have been used in the attacks, said Rajasthan Home Minister
Gulab Chand Kataria.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Indian government
officials -- including Minister of State for Home Affairs Shriprakash
Jaiswal -- were quick to label it a terrorist attack.
The seven explosions started at about 7:30 p.m. (1400 GMT) and detonated
within 12 minutes of each other, police said.
The bombs exploded within about 500 meters (0.3 mile) of each other in
Jaipur's old city, which is frequented by tourists. Video See the
aftermath of the explosions. »
An eighth bomb was defused, according to H.G. Raghavendra, a Jaipur city
official. He described all the bombs as "medium intensity."
"There is no reason to panic," he told CNN-IBN. "Everything is under
control."
One blast struck near Hanuman Temple, which was crowded with Hindus
worshipping Hanuman, the religion's monkey god.
Another struck near a market area inside Jaipur's walled city where
tourists and locals frequent restaurants and shops.
Jaipur, known as the "pink city," is about 260 kilometers (160 miles)
southwest of India's capital, New Delhi.
Many of the casualties were taken to SMS Hospital, the largest
government hospital in Jaipur.
People gathered outside the hospital to hear news about friends and
relatives; the hospital issued an urgent appeal for blood donations.
The state of Rajasthan, where Jaipur is located, was placed on alert,
local officials said. Delhi police officials said they too were on high
alert after the blasts and were receiving regular updates from Jaipur on
developments in the investigation.
The Deputy Chief Minister for the state of Maharashtra, R.R. Patil, said
the entire state was also on high alert. Mumbai is in the state of
Maharashtra.
The attack was immediately condemned by the United States. U.S. State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the attacks were "quite clearly
an act intended to take innocent lives."
He told reporters at his daily briefing that Washington was still
collecting information, and could not "offer insight into who may be
responsible."
According to the U.S. State Department, India ranks among the countries
where terrorism is most common.
"The conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, attacks by extreme leftist Naxalites
and Maoists in eastern and central India, assaults by ethno-linguistic
nationalists in the northeastern states, and terrorist strikes
nationwide by Islamic extremists took more than 2,300 lives this year,"
the agency said.
It said India's counterterrorism efforts "are hampered by outdated and
overburdened law enforcement and legal systems," and described the
country's court system as "slow, laborious, and prone to corruption."