SERIAL BLAST IN MUMBAI , 21 Killed and 141 INJURED on 13/07/2011

Serial blasts struck Mumbai Wednesday evening, less than three years after the 26/11 terrorist attacks of 2008. The three blasts, in sequence, were timed at 6.30 pm, 6.45 pm, and 7 pm IST, and targeted in that order Zaveri Bazaar, Opera

House and the Kabutarkhana area of Dadar West. Zaveri Bazaar, centre of the jewellery industry, is adjacent the iconic Mumbadevi temple from which the city derives its name; both Zaveri Bazaar and Kabutarkhana were also targeted in the 1993 serial blasts.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday described Wednesday's three serial explosions Mumbai as unfortunate and warned that every city of India was vulnerable to coordinated attacks by terrorists.
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10:40 am: Every city of India vulnerable to coordinated attack by terrorists: Chidambaram
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday described Wednesday's three serial explosions Mumbai as unfortunate and warned that every city of India was vulnerable to coordinated attacks by terrorists.
Addressing a joint press conference with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan here, Chidambaram said that a remote control device triggered off the explosions.
He said that ammonium nitrate was used in the explosions and added that it was unfortunate that in recent times, Pune and Mumbai had been the prime targets of the terrorists. He said that various investigative teams were on the job to find forensic evidence to pinpoint who or what group was actually responsible for the explosions. He also said that in the 31 months since 26/11, the actionable response to such terror incidents and their aftermath had been praiseworthy.
"The three blasts, which ripped through the bustling Mumbai was timed just a few minutes apart with the first taking off at 6:45 p.m. Therefore, we infer this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Chidambaram said.
10:30 am: Q+A - Who could be behind the Mumbai blasts?
No one has claimed responsibility. Security analysts say the pattern of the attack points to a local militant group called the Indian Mujahideen (IM).

A remote possibility is the Pakistan-based separatist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), known for its sympathies for al Qaeda and blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

10:15 am: Here's a timeline of bomb attacks in Maharashtra since 1993. Well, it's alarming!10:05 am: No leads in Mumbai bomb attacks

India's home affairs minister Palaniappan Chidambaram says investigators have no immediate leads as to who was behind the triple bombing in the city of Mumbai that killed 21 people.

Chidambaram told a news conference Thursday that the blasts in three separate neighborhoods were "a coordinated terror attack."
He says the bombs were made of ammonium nitrate and were not remotely triggered.
There were no immediate leads as to the culprits and there were no intelligence warnings of a possible attack he added.
He lowered the casualty toll to 21 confirmed deaths and 141 injuries. He said a severed head was found that could be an 18th casualty. He did not explain the discrepancy from an earlier government statement that confirmed 21 deaths. 9:45 am: P Chidambaram says 21 people confirmed dead in Mumbai attack, not previous 21
9:15 am: Mumbai blasts: Twitter joins hands to help
The terror attack in Mumbai on Wednesday was the 13th attack on the city in 20 years. Amid the chaos, phonelines were jammed, traffic movement restricted and Mumbaikars stranded. But something was different this time, the users of the social networking site Twitter came together with three innocuous hashtags - #here2help, #needhelp and #mumbai which was trending all through Wednesday evening.
People on Twitter, kept the networking site updated with vital information they received on the Mumbai blasts. They helped in spreading the much needed call for help.
Twitter user Satyarth tweeted, "Food, support, time, companion, friend, blood (B +ve) - please feel free to ask fellow citizens. I am #here2help. I will do whatever I can."

Another Twitter user Sachin Malhotra tweeted, "#here2help... if taxis go off the road. Feel free to call and stay back at Chembur with my family."
8:45 am: What security experts have to say about terror and Pak military
The timing of these blasts is very significant. Firstly, the India-Pakistan talks have resumed. Then the Kasab trials are going on in Pakistan. But most importantly, the Pakistani military is currently under attack from all quarters: politicians, civil society, their media and the Americans; also there is distinct unrest in their ranks. The Americans are speaking to them and using language that people wouldn’t use with their subordinates and they’ve made it very clear that if the Army doesn’t get their act together, they will stop all funding. So how does the Pakistani army respond? Well, they attack India. It’s a diversionary tactic. The intention is to provoke India in such a manner that we will be forced to retaliate and then all of Pakistan will close ranks behind its army and be united.
Most terrorists don’t repeat targets. The only reason they keep attacking Mumbai is because there is nothing that has shaken the psyche of the country like the last Mumbai attack and they want to repeat that effect.
8:15 am: Indian shares seen lower on weak Asia, Mumbai blasts

Indian shares are set to open lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in most other major Asian markets after Moody's warned the United States may lose its top-notch credit rating in the coming weeks.

Investors would also remain wary after three bombs rocked crowded districts of Mumbai on Wednesday evening, killing at least 21 people in the biggest militant attack on India's financial capital since 2008.

"We could see the market opening a bit weaker but that will be more due to global cues," said Ambareesh Baliga, chief operating officer at Way2Wealth Securities. "I don't think the blasts will have a major impact on the market. We have seen this in the past."

Shares in Tata Consultancy Services , India's top software services exporter, would be watched ahead of its quarterly results scheduled to be announced after trading hours.

Traders would also be watching monthly inflation data due at 0630 GMT. India's wholesale price index probably rose 9.70 percent in June from a year earlier, quickening from May, on rising food and fuel prices, a Reuters poll showed.

8:00 am: Mumbai blasts: Is underworld behind the return of terror?

The security establishment was scrambling on Wednesday for any specific inputs that would give indications of who may have been behind the serial blasts that interrupted the past few months of lull from terror.

Sources were veering around to the opinion that the likelihood of underworld involvement was very high because of a host of factors. One official pointed out that the underworld has been "hyperactive" in recent weeks in Mumbai. There have been a number of reports about various developments in the underworld such as the killing of journalist J Dey and attacks on Dawood Ibrahim's brother's driver.

7:00 am: Mumbai: Hot hunting ground for terror

Repeatedly hit over a half-a-dozen times since the early 1990s, India's financial capital has now become the favourite hunting ground for terror outfits. Over 600 people have died in these attacks. The macabre dance of death has unnerved citizens amid fears that Mumbai may go the Karachi way. Pakistan's port city, barely 800km from Mumbai, has been wracked with violence and bloodbath over the past few years.

"I am shocked beyond words. It proves yet again Mumbai's un-preparedness. Civilians are not on the radar of politicians, who live safely in their havens," said industrialist Dilip De. "It looks like a repeat telecast of the same incident. Politicians have already started the blame game and now the candle vigil marches will begin. The term security no longer has any meaning. It's a shame," said filmmaker and activist Ashoke Pandit. Former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh, who headed the investigations into the serial blasts of 1993, said Mumbai will continue to be the prime target. "Mumbai has been attacked every three years since 2003. The city has a strong network of IM and SIMI. While the police upgraded its infrastructure and equipment after 26/11 attack, the focus should be on how to curb radicalization of youth from the minority community," he said.

6:00 am: Ammonium Nitrate used in the explosive devices, say sources

As Mumbai is still coming to terms with the triple terror strikes on Wednesday evening, security agencies are now probing the nature of blasts that ripped through the country's financial capital.

Initial investigations have revealed that Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were used at all the three blast sites - at a bus stop in Dadar, outside the popular snack shops in Zaveri Bazaar in South Mumbai and next to Opera House in South Mumbai again. Sources say that upto seven IEDs may have been used in the blasts.

4:00 am: Mumbai attacks: Indian Mujahideen suspected behind Mumbai blasts

A home-grown Islamist terrorist group, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), is suspected to be behind the three moderate to high intensity explosions in Mumbai on Wednesday which Home Minister P. Chidambaram said were "coordinated attack by terrorists".

The terror attack, which claimed nearly 20 lives, comes days after two suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives, who provided vehicles used in the 2008 serial blasts in Gujarat that killed 56 people, were arrested from a Mumbai suburb by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).

2:40 am: Chidambaram in Mumbai, visits blast sites

Barely five hours after the Mumbai blasts, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram rushed to Mumbai around midnight Wednesday-Thursday for a spot assessment of the triple blasts which left 21 dead and 141 injured.

He was accompanied by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and newly-appointed MoS from Mumbai, Milind Deora, and other high-ranking home department and police officials.

2:10 am: We condemn these despicable acts of violence designed to provoke fear and division. It is more important than ever that we stand with India. I will be traveling to India next week as planned, says Hillary Clinton.

1:20 am: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan confirms 21 dead and 141 injured so far; extent of injuries is not clearly known and casualties are expected to rise

Jai Hind

Rahul Vallamber