Hyderabad Bomb Blasts - Complete News - 17 Killed 119 Injured

Two bomb blasts have killed atleast 17 people & 119 injured in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad (Dilsukh Nagar), in what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh labelled as a "dastardly attack".

The twin bomb blasts that hit the city in Andhra Pradesh were 10 minutes apart, police said. Television images showed casualties being rushed to hospital.

Bombs had been planted on bicycles 150m (500ft) apart near a crowded fruit and vegetable market. The blasts took place near a small restaurant, close to two cinemas and a bus stand. First bomb went off at Anand Tiffins, located opposite to Konark Theatre at around 19:02 IST (UTC+05:30). The second bomb went off at 19:06 IST in between Venkatadri Theatre and Dilsukhnagar Bus Stand. Andhra Pradesh's Director General of Police noted that Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) had been used in the two blasts to cause maximum damage. Major cities have been put on alert as police probe the cause for the blasts. "The number of dead has increased to 17 and the injured are 119," Home Secretary RK Singh said after a high-level security meeting following the attacks. Unconfirmed reports suggest the number of casualties may rise. The explosions hit just after 19:00 (13:30 GMT) within a radius of 150 metres, Home Minister Sushil Shinde said. There was a possible third blast reported shortly afterwards, Hyderabad police told the BBC. Among the dead are two MBA students, an engineering student and a young man who had appeared for a police exam. Many of the injured are also students and other young people. 13 bodies have been identified. Of the 119 injured, most of them are in the age group of 19 to 22 years, police said. Local media are reporting that the blasts come two days after government security agencies sent an advisory to states to tighten security in light of potential threats from militant groups operating in the region related to the recent executions of terrorism suspects Ajmal Kasab and Mohammed Afzal Guru. Guru was convicted of involvement in the 2001 attacks on Parliament in which 14 people were killed.

Appeal for calm

No group has so far said it carried out the attack. The Indian Mujahideen, a domestic group, has been blamed for many bomb blasts in India in the past, including the 2011 Mumbai blasts. After the 2011 bombing several people were arrested on charges of working for the Indian Mujahideen (some of whom reportedly tipped the police off to today's blasts), though no one has yet been convicted. In 2002 the same neighborhood was hit with a bomb, which Indian police blamed on the Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. But the latest blast reminded locals more of the May 2007 bomb Mecca Masjid (mosque). While the police had initially blamed the Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami for those blasts and arrested several people on charges they worked for the Islamic fundamentalist group, the federal National Investigation Agency has charged six members of a different Hindu right-wing group with that and other such bomb blasts. Authorities had received intelligence about possible attacks in the country but no specific information as to where or when they might occur, Mr Shinde said. The information had been passed on to the states, he added. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has urged the public to remain calm. He tweeted

"The guilty will not go unpunished".

He has directed federal agencies to extend all possible help to the state authorities in the relief effort, and offered 200,000 rupees (£2,500) to the next of kin of each person killed. Meanwhile, Australia's cricket team says it has held talks about its players' safety with Indian authorities in the wake of the deadly twin bombings. The second Test of the India-Australia series is due to start in Hyderabad on 2 March. "The safety of the squad is of paramount importance and Australian team management and Cricket Australia staff are liaising with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, local authorities and the Australian High Commission to ensure we have all the appropriate information," the team said in a statement on Thursday. Major cities have been put on high alert following the blasts, with measures such as increased police presence on the streets and random vehicle searches. India has been on alert since Guru, who was Kashmiri, was executed earlier this month in New Delhi's Tihar Jail. The US has offered its sympathy and support to the Indian government, and US Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to discuss the attack with India's foreign secretary later.

Commercial hub/Leading tech-center/Heart of Telgana Movement

It is the first major bomb attack in India since a September 2011 blast outside Delhi's High Court killed 13 people.

The Muslim extremist group Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (Huji) said it carried out the Delhi attack.

Hyderabad is one of southern India's main commercial hubs, and the UK opened a new deputy high commission in the city late last year. The explosions hit the busy Dilsukh Nagar neighbourhood, which is crowded with cinemas, shops, restaurants and one of India's largest fruit and vegetable markets. There have been at least nine attacks on the city since 1992, including twin explosions in 2007 that killed more than 40 people. The city has a sizeable Muslim minority, is a stronghold of the Muslim political party, MIM, and has a long history of religious tension, says the BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi. He says religious tensions grew from the 1980s and 1990s with Hindus and Muslims moving out of mixed areas into community ghettos.  
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