PUNE SERIAL BLast, 01/08/2012

Pune: Pune this evening saw four low-intensity blasts in a span of nearly 40 minutes on its busy Junglee Maharaj Road in the heart of the city. Two other bombs have been defused by the Anti-Terror Squad. All the bombs were placed within a kilometre. At least one person has been injured. He has been taken into custody.

Home Secretary RK Singh told NDTV that the injured person is being treated as suspect and questioned by the police. Mr Singh also said that a terror angle cannot be ruled out as it appears to be a planned attack.

Sushil Kumar Shinde, who took over today as India's Home Minister, was scheduled to be in the city tonight to preside over a prize-giving ceremony. He cancelled his plans at the last minute. "The blasts were of low-intensity. I was supposed to be at the Tilak Theatre, very near to where one of the blasts took place. At this moment, I cannot say anything more. It is now a matter of inquiry, " he told reporters in Delhi.

The explosions took place between 7.37 and 8.15 pm during rush hour in the heart of the city on Junglee Maharaj Road, crowded with restaurants, shops and the large Sambhaji Park, popular for family outings in the evening. The blasts took place outside the Balgandharva auditorium used to stage plays, at a statue near that theatre, opposite a McDonalds outlet and near a bank. One of the bombs, placed on a cycle, was hooked up to sophisticated circuitry, say sources.

In Mumbai, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan called a meeting with senior officials to step up security for the financial capital. "Two teams from the NIA will reach Pune. Bomb disposal experts also. All experts to come to Pune and find out what device it was and what was the motive. When we know anything more concrete, we will share... Request people not to panic," he said.

After the blasts all cities across India are on high alert. A bomb disposal squad swept Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where Anna Hazare and his activists are on a hunger strike, supported by a large crowd. (Read: High alert in Delhi)

Mr Shinde cancelled his trip to Pune at the last minute to meet with officials in his new assignment at the home ministry, said Jitender Singh, the junior Home Minister. "Please stay calm...the government of India and Maharashtra will work towards cracking this," Mr Singh said on NDTV. 

The Anti-Terror Squad is examining CCTV footage from the branch of McDonald's outside which one of the explosion took place. The police says it has fanned out across the city; it has urged residents to report any suspicious object and not to touch unclaimed objects.

The Army has also sent a bomb disposal squad to the blast site at the request of the local administration. Pune is the Southern Command headquarters of the Indian Army.

In February 2010, 17 people were killed in a bomb blast at the popular German Bakery near Pune's famous Osho ashram. After being arrested in the US, Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley confessed to having filmed the bakery to help in the planning and execution of the terror attack.

RAHUL VALLAMBER

DELHI BLAST AT ISRAEL EMBASSY 13/02/2012

Tensions between Israel and Iran rose sharply on Monday when bombers struck at Israeli Embassy personnel in the capitals of India and Georgia. Israel accused the Tehran government of being behind the attacks, which Iran denied.

The wife of an Israeli defense envoy to New Delhi was hurt along with several other people when her car was destroyed by an explosive device placed on it by a motorcyclist at a red light. In Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, a similar device was discovered on the car of a local staff member of the Israeli Embassy, but was defused by the police.
Both resembled attacks that have killed five of Iran’s nuclear scientists in recent years, most recently last month. Iran has attributed the assassinations to Israeli agents and has vowed to take revenge. The scientists’ assassinations — along with sabotage of Iran’s nuclear program through cyberwarfare and faulty parts — are aimed at delaying what the West believes is Iran’s drive to build a nuclear weapon.
If actually carried out by Iran, the attacks would be another indication that the leadership in Tehran was willing to reach beyond its borders against its enemies and expand its attacks to civilians. The United States has charged that Iran was behind a plot to assassinate a Saudi ambassador on American soil, and Israel has said that Iran has planned to attack its citizens in various countries, but that those plots were stopped.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contended that Monday’s attacks fit that pattern.
“In recent months, we have witnessed several attempts to attack Israeli citizens and Jews in several countries, including Azerbaijan, Thailand and others,” he said. “In each instance, we succeeded in foiling the attacks in cooperation with local authorities. Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, were behind all of these attempted attacks.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected Israel’s accusations on Monday. A spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said, “Israel has bombed its embassies in New Delhi and Tbilisi to tarnish Iran’s friendly ties with the host countries,” adding, “Israel perpetrated the terrorist actions to launch psychological warfare against Iran.”
Iran has defended its nuclear program as peaceful and has defiantly pursued uranium enrichment through years of international pressure and sanctions. Israel’s increasingly urgent warnings on the need to halt Iran’s nuclear progress, before it gets much closer to being able to build a bomb, have prompted concerns that Israel might unilaterally mount a military strike — and have added to the implacable enmity between the two.

Iran’s oil and banking industries are suffering from sanctions implemented by the United States and Europe to pressure the country to back off its nuclear program. Iranian leaders have vowed to fight back through shutting the vital Strait of Hormuz and through military strikes on countries that are used as launching pads for attacks on it.
Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, a spokesman for Iran’s Joint Armed Forces Staff, said recently that “the enemies of the Iranian nation, especially the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime, have to be held responsible for their activities.”
Iranian leaders have called Israel a tumor that must be removed, and Iran arms and finances Hezbollah and Hamas, which are founded on the principle that Israel has no right to exist.
On Monday, Israeli officials said there was enough evidence from the scenes in Georgia and India to say that the bombs were the work of Iranian agents.
“Iran’s fingerprints are all over this,” one official said after emerging from high-level meetings in Jerusalem, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Some American Jewish leaders have expressed concern that synagogues and American Jewish centers could be targets in the increased tensions. In 1994, a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The authorities there have accused Iranian diplomats of being behind that attack.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist group with close ties to Iran, has promised to take revenge for the killing of its top commander, Imad Mugniyah, four years ago this week. Mr. Mugniyah had been sought by the United States in terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in the 1980s.
Israel held him responsible for Hezbollah military operations in southern Lebanon from the mid-1990s. Israel is widely thought to have killed him with a powerful bomb in Damascus, the Syrian capital.
Israeli analysts said the attacks on Monday were insignificant enough that the Israeli government would not feel driven to counterattack.

“Clearly Israel is not going to attack Iran over this,” Yoram Schweitzer, director of a terrorism project at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said by telephone. “The effect of this specific attack does not necessitate a harsh Israeli response other than condemnation.”

Michael Herzog, a retired brigadier general who is an international fellow in Israel with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agreed. “There is no need to respond,” he said in a telephone interview. “What is at stake in Israel’s calculations about Iran is much bigger than this.”
The attack in New Delhi took place less than a mile from the residence of the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh.
In a news conference Monday night, Delhi’s police commissioner, B. K. Gupta, said a witness “saw a person on a motorcycle sticking some kind of device on the back of the car.” As the motorcycle moved away, “a mild blast took place in the back of the car,” he said.
The injured woman was Tal Yehoshua Koren, who is married to an Israeli defense official at the embassy and also works there. She was on her way to pick up her children at the American Embassy school. The car’s driver, Manoj Sharma, was also wounded. Two occupants of a nearby car were also hurt.
Ms. Yehoshua Koren underwent spinal surgery, according to Dr. Deep Makkar of Primus Super Specialty Hospital, in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave.
Shrapnel “penetrated her spine and her liver,” Dr. Makkar said, adding that she could face neurological injuries. The other three victims were admitted to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
“India very strongly condemns such an unfortunate incident,” said S. M. Krishna, India’s minister of external affairs, who also called Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister. “It will be fully investigated and the culprit will be brought to justice.”
India has resisted American and European pressure to curtail trade with Iran because it relies heavily on Iranian oil.
Israeli diplomats have been on high alert since Pakistan-based militants attacked in the city of Mumbai in 2008, killing more than 160 people, including 6 people in a Chabad Jewish community center.

Rahul Vallamber

Delhi High Court blast: 11 killed, 64 injured 07/09/2011

New Delhi: Terror has struck Delhi again, Wednesday, when a powerful bomb went off out

side the Delhi High Court at 10.17 am. At least 11 persons are confirmed dead, while more than 85 others are injured.

Home Minister P Chidambaram confirmed in Parliament that the blast was a terror attack. However, the module behind the attack is yet to be identified. He said that the perpetrators of the blast would be brought to justice.

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation and is probing all angles.

Home Secretary RK Singh said the blast was of "medium to high intensity" and created a "deep crater" at the site, adding that, "It had all the makings of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) set up by a terror group."

As per eyewitnesses, the blast was very loud and powerful. The bomb is believed to have been placed in a briefcase and left near gate number five of the court.

Amid pandemonium, the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals like Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital. The death toll may increase further as many of the injured are in a serious condition.

Gate number five of the High Court is near the reception and is very crowded in the mornings as people queue up to gain entry into the court. Around 200 people are said to have been at the spot at the time of the blast.

Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta is at the spot. The entire area has been cordoned off by the Indian Army; forensic teams, including from the NSG, are already at work to collect evidence, while NSG commandos are on standby.

NIA sleuths are also at the spot.

Investigators are suspecting the use of potassium nitrate, unconfirmed reports claimed.

An emergency was convened by Union Home Secretary RK Singh at the Home Ministry to take stock of the situation.

Speaking to Zee News, UK Bansal, Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said, “As of now, no details about the nature of the blast have emerged. The investigating agencies are probing every aspect of the blast.”

When quizzed by reporters whether it was an intelligence failure, Bansal said, “There was no specific intelligence input regarding today’s blast but this aspect will certainly be probed by investigating agencies.”

“It would be too early to say anything as to who is behind the blast as all important cites are generally on terror hit list,” Bansal said, adding, “An alert has been sounded in the entire city.”

On May 25, a blast had ripped through the parking lot of the High Court, but the police are yet to crack the case.

As per the people who were present in the court that day as well, today’s blast is more powerful than the last one.

Compensation announced for victims

Meanwhile, state’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of the kin of those killed in the blast outside the Delhi High Court while those permanently incapacitated will get Rs 2 lakh.

Those seriously injured in the blast will get Rs one lakh while in case of any death of minor, the family will get Rs 1.5 lakh. People who received minor injuries in the blast will be given Rs 10,000.

The compensation was announced after Dikshit visited the injured at the RML hospital. Terming the incident as "very tragic", Dikshit said Delhi Government will provide all possible support to victims of the blast.

Rahul Vallamber

At least 50 killed after bomb blast in crowded mosque, Pakistan on 19/08/2011

A BOMB detonated in a crowded mosque in Pakistan’s tribal belt, killing at least 50 people who had gathered for Friday prayers and injuring more than 100.
The suspected suicide blast was in a village near Jamrud, the main town in the Khyber tribal region, close to the Afghan border. The first big attack in Pakistan during Ramadam, it is thought to be the work of extremists linked to al-Qaeda.
Some reports put the death toll at more than 50.
Locals speculated that the bombing was a revenge attack by the Pakistani Taliban after clashes between militants and tribesmen in recent days. Most of Khyber is not under the control of the Taliban or other militant groups, unlike much of the tribal area.
The injured were ferried to hospitals in Peshawar, about a 30-minute drive away, mainly in private cars as few ambulances were available. Between 300 and 400 people were at the mosque, which would have been packed for Ramadan – normally a time of piety and quiet contemplation.
“I don’t know what happened or where the bomber came from,” said a dazed Mustafa Kamal Shinwari, who was injured in the blast, speaking from his hospital bed in Peshawar. “Just poor people come to the mosque. Is this any way for Muslims to behave? Whoever did this cannot be a Muslim, no matter what they say.”
Inside the mosque blood was splattered across the floor and covered prayer mats. The walls and roof were scarred by shrapnel, the telltale sign of a suicide vest usually packed with ball-bearings, nails and other metal projectiles.
Zahid, a resident who wished to remain anonymous, said the bomber was to one side of the mosque, against a wall. “If he had stood in the middle of the congregation, the carnage would have been to all sides and he’d have killed maybe a hundred,” he said.
The bomb exploded in an area inhabited by the Kukikhel tribe. Earlier this month, Kukikhel militiamen blew up vehicles carrying a group of Pakistani Taliban in the Tirah valley, a remote and dangerous part of Khyber. More recently locals repelled an incursion by the Taliban. “The message here from the Taliban is that we can attack you at your home,” said Zahid.
Most of the Nato supplies passing through Pakistan for soldiers fighting in Afghanistan go through Khyber, the most developed part of the tribal area.
A local official, Iqbal Khan, said the bomb detonated as worshippers were leaving after offering prayers. Bombs at mosques and other public places are usually not claimed by extremists, so as not to damage their image, leaving a vacuum in which wild conspiracies flourish about who’s behind them.
“If this was a suicide attack, then they should do it in Afghanistan, against American or British soldiers. We are Muslims, so why target us?” said Saeed ur Rehman, who lives close to the blast site. “But I don’t believe it was a suicide bombing. This was a drone attack on the mosque.”
Separately, a missile fired from an American drone killed four suspected militants yesterday in South Waziristan

Jai Hind

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Taliban attack in Kabul 8, Killed. on 19/08/2011

Kabul, Friday
Eight people were killed as a wave of suicide bombings rocked Britain’s cultural centre in Kabul today, a public holiday marking Afghanistan’s independence from London in 1919.
Two blasts struck the British Council offices in Kabul after three or four Taliban suicide bombers got inside the compound, prompting a firefight which started at around 5.45am and was still raging hours later.
Four further explosions were heard over the following seven hours.
The Foreign Office in London has said all British nationals affected by the “despicable” attack are safe.
The British ambassador to Kabul, William Patey, said there were injuries among the Nepalese ex-Gurkhas guarding the centre, but that none had died.
An official source speaking on condition of anonymity had earlier said the dead included “two to three Nepalese”.

British government offices in Kabul are often guarded by Nepalese ex-Gurkha soldiers now working for private security firms.
Patey added that some inside the compound, which first came under attack in the early morning, had hidden in a safe room at the centre, including a British and a South African who worked there, and a British security guard.

Jai Hind

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Rahul Vallamber

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.
Here's a spreadsheet that's tracking offers and requests of help.
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

Reaction on Mumbai Blast on 13/07/2011

14-07-2011

11:40 pm: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has released a list of the dead and the injured in the Mumbai blast. Click here for the list

11:24 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemned the Mumbai blasts and said it hoped that the government would take a clear stand on the issue of ending terror infrastructure.
'No words can ably express the anguish over these dastardly attacks. We condemn them in strongest possible words. We share the sorrow of the victims,' party president Nitin Gadkari said.

'We hope the government will move beyond reacting from one blast to another and take a clear stand on issues like effective deterrence infrastructure. These blasts are a reminder of the facts that cases like Afzal Guru continue to wait for final action and government dithers from not talking to Pakistan,' the statement added.
11:17 pm: The posh South Mumbai jewellery market Zaveri Bazar became a terror strike target for the third time.

Zaveri Bazar was first targeted in August 1993 when 13 serial blasts ripped through the city, killing 257 people and injuring over 700.

The Aug 25, 2003 twin blasts - one at Gateway of India and another at Zaveri Bazar -killed 54 people and injured another 244.

11:10 pm: The Vice President Hamid Ansari has strongly condemned the heinous terrorist attacks that occurred in various areas of Mumbai today.

He expressed deep shock at the scale of the attacks targeted against innocent people that have caused numerous fatalities and casualties. He said that such terrorist acts are aimed at destabilising the nation and urged all citizens to unite in this critical hour. He expressed deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the attacks.

The Vice President reiterated the national resolve to fight terrorism in all of its malevolent manifestations.
11:00 pm: UK foreign secretary, William Hague, condemns Mumbai attacks:

I send my deepest condolences to all those who have lost relatives or been injured in the bomb blasts in Mumbai. These were deplorable acts of terrorism. The UK stands firmly with India in the face of such atrocities. We are committed to working with the Indian government and our allies and partners to combat the threat from terrorism in all its forms.

10:50 pm: US President Barack Obama condemns Mumbai blast:

I strongly condemn the outrageous attacks in Mumbai, and my thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and those who have lost loved ones. The US government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens. India is a close friend and partner of the United States. The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India’s efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice. During my trip to Mumbai, I saw firsthand the strength and resilience of the Indian people, and I have no doubt that the India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks.

10:35 pm: PM Manmohan Singh's statement:

I strongly condemn the bomb blasts in Mumbai this evening. I have asked the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to do whatever is possible to provide relief to the injured and to the families of the deceased citizens. I have also asked Union Home Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram to provide all possible expert assistance to the State Government. I appeal to people of Mumbai to remain calm and show a united face.

10:27 pm: 'I was at my shop when I heard a deafening sound. I ran out to see what has happened. I saw a building rattling and people running here and there', said a eyewitness at one of the blast site.

10:22 pm: The blasts that rocked Mumbai were a 'coordinated attack by terrorists', Home Minister Chidambaram said. 'The blasts took place between 6.45 p.m. and 7 p.m. and therefore we infer from this that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists,' the home minister said.

10:15 pm: Ministry of home affairs have confirmed that 20 have been killed and 113 injured in the blast.

10:10 pm: Following are some major militant attacks on India in recent years.

March 7, 2006: At least 15 people are killed and 60 wounded in three blasts in Varanasi.

July 11, 2006: More than 180 people are killed in seven bomb explosions at railway stations and on trains in Mumbai. Islamist militants are blamed.

Sept. 8, 2006: At least 32 people are killed in a series of explosions, including one near a mosque, in Malegaon town, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Mumbai.

Feb. 19, 2007: Two bombs explode aboard a train heading from India to Pakistan; at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, burn to death.

9:55 pm: President Patil wished speedy recovery for those injured in the blasts.

9:35 pm: Home Minister Chidambaram to reach Mumbai Thursday

9:30 pm: Manmohan Singh had a telephonic conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan following the three blasts that rocked Mumbai. Manmohan Singh has asked Chavan to keep him posted about the various developments taking place after the blasts.

9:23 pm: Advisory: the Mumbai Taxi Workers Union has confirmed that all cabs will go off the roads at midnight.

9:17 pm: NIA teams asked to join investigations in Mumbai blasts

9:13 pm: Maharashtra CM says that police have confirmed that 17 have been killed and 81 injured in the blasts.

9:10 pm: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani have in official reactions condemned the blasts in Mumbai, expressed their sympathy for and solidarity with the Indian leadership and people, and condoled the victims.

9:07 pm: Home Ministry officials say that India had no advance intelligence indicating the possibility of such attacks.

9:03 pm: One CSFL team from Delhi and one from Hyderabad being rushed to Mumbai: Chidambaram

9:00 pm: Chidambaram says 10 people killed and 54 injured in the blasts

8:55 pm: In a brief statement to the press, Home Minister P Chidambaram said he was in constant touch with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, and said he would update the media on the situation and developments every two hours. The next update is due at 11 PM IST.

8:50 pm: Chidambaram appeals to people of Mumbai to remain calm and maintain peace.

8:47 pm: No incident of communal disharmony reported in the city after blasts: Milind Deora

8:45 pm: A vehicle with registration number MH-43 A 9384 was found damaged at the Dadar blast site. The police are enquiring about its details.

8:42 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan has confirmed 13 dead in the blasts, and over 100 injured to various degrees of severity.

8:40 pm: Even as a BSF plane with NIA officials, forensics experts and anti-terrorist personnel are en route to Mumbai, Home Minister P Chidambaramhas taken the chair at an emergency Cabinet meeting.

8:37 pm: All injured taken to KEM and JJ hospital

8:36 pm: Opera House blast took place in Prasad Chambers, Panchratna lane which houses diamond traders

8:35 pm: Indian Mujahideen suspected for attacks: NDTV reports

8:34 pm: The blasts occured at 6.30, 6.45 and 7 pm in sequence

8:33 pm: Police control room nos: 22621855, 1983, 5020

8:30 pm: Top security and home ministry officials meet to assess situation

8:29 pm: Opera House blast took place in Panchratna lane

8:28 pm: Police have cordoned off the area. People are stranded in Dadar as the police are not allowing them to leave the place. It's raining and people are struck

8:28 pm: Dadar blast took place at bus stop near Kabhuthar Khaana

8:26 pm: Home Secretary RK Singh confirms that one blast took place in a Maruti Esteem

8:25 pm: Home Secretary RK Singh says all injured have been shifted to hospital

8:22 pm: Home secretary RK Singh says 2 killed and 100 people have been injured in the blast.

8:20 pm: Domestic and International airports in Mumbai reportedly sealed. CISF screening airport parking lots

8:17 pm: Home Minister Chidambaram to brief the media at 9:00 pm on the Mumbai blasts

8:14 pm: BSF forensic experts being readied to fly to Mumbai

8:12 pm: PM speaks to Maharastra CM on blasts; asks him to keep him posted

8:10 pm: Maharashtra Home Secretary claims 60 have been injured

8:07 pm: Local trains in Mumbai are still functional

8:05 pm: Police sources say improvised explosive devices used in the blasts

8:03 pm: IED used in blast: TV reports

8:02 pm: If you or your loved ones are injured in the Mumbai blasts, please call 022 6133 6133 - MeraDoctor lines are open for all

8:01 pm: Kabhuthar Khaana area in Dadar cordoned off

8:00 pm: It seems to be a terror attack: Home ministry

7:58 pm: TV reports say that 8 people have been killed and more than 70 injured

7:55 pm: Dadar blast victims taken to Kem hospital; Zaveri Bazaar blast victims taken to JJ hospital

7:54 pm: Zaveri Bazaar blast took place in a meter box of an electric pole

7:53 pm: Home Ministry puts NSG team on standby

7:52 pm: Teams of Maharashtra ATS rushed to the blast site

7:50 pm: One explosion was in a car in Dadar

7:50 pm: Cellular networks jammed across Mumbai

7:47 pm: Home Ministry confirms blasts are an act of Terrorism

7:45 pm: Security alert in Delhi after Mumbai blasts

7:43 pm: Chhagan Bhujpal refuses to give confirmation on mumber of injured

7:40 pm: Home ministry confirms blasts in Mumbai

7:35 pm: Probing a tiffin box found near the blast site: ACP

7:32 pm: 7:30 pm - Early reports indicate casualties in Zaveri Bazaar blast.

7:30 pm: Fire under control in Zaveri Bazaar, says eye witness.

7:25 pm: Eyewitnesses report hearing explosion sound near Kabuthar Khaana in Dadar. It is located next to Dadar Station.

7:20 pm: Home Ministry refuses to confirm that they are bomb blasts

7:15 pm: Three blasts reported from different parts of Mumbai - Dadar, Prasad Chambers in Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar.

Jai Hind : Rahul Vallamber 14/07/2011