| Show Sequenced Sequenced- bomb blasts kill at least 18 in New Delhi Henry Chu ChuLos Los Angeles Times Tunes Multiple bomb blasts rocked this densely populated city Saturday evening killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit the Indian capital in nearly three years The serial explosions struck packed marketplaces and public areas across Delhi from its older northern precincts to the affluent newer south At least two bombs blew up in Connaught Place the city's most famous commercial district a circular colonnaded arcade of shops and restaurants erected during the British Raj As is routinely the case casein casein casein in such attacks here Indian authorities immediately cast suspicion on Muslim extremists A militant outfit known as the Indian claimed responsibility for the blasts in an mail e-mail sent to Indian news organizations before the blasts warning that India was soon to receive the message of death The assertion could not be verified The group was little known until several months ago when spokespeople purporting to represent it claimed to be behind at least two deadly bombings one in the tourist destination of in May which killed more than 60 people and another in the city of in western India in which dozens of people died Saturdays Saturday's apparently coordinated attack a string of explosions that went off as darkness fell and the streets were crowded was the worst to hit Delhi since a multiple bombing in October 2005 In that incident more than 50 people were killed on the eve of one of Hinduism's most important festivals leading to government declarations that Islamic radicals were attempting to sow religious strife The Indian is linked to a banned Islamic students' students group But little concrete proof has tied the students' students organization to specific attacks and bombings throughout India in the past year have failed to ignite any communal violence in inthis inthis inthis this predominantly Hindu land The first explosion bloodied shoppers and passers-by passers in the neighborhood known as Karol Bagh toward the northern part of Delhi Two vo more blasts shook Connaught Place and at least one more struck a a. marketplace in southern Delhi popular with well- well heeled Indians Television footage showed twisted metal frames of bicycles and damaged cars at the blast sites Bystanders who escaped serious injury were nonetheless covered in blood Panicked shoppers fled the scene emptying streets normally teeming with people out enjoying themselves on a warm summer evening Its a very cowardly act of violence Arti Delhi's mayor told reporters not far from the bombing in inthe inthe inthe the southern part of the city They want to break the spirit of Delhi They have tried this in other places before and they have not succeeded and they will not succeed here II I |
