13 September 2008 Delhi bombings

The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronized bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes on September 13, 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. The first bomb exploded at 6:10 pm IST (1240 UTC), and four other blasts followed in succession, with at least 30 people killed and over 100 injured.

CONTENTS

• Background
• Details
• Response
• Claim of responsibility
• Domestic reactions
• International reactions

Background

Three bomb attacks had already occurred the same year in India. The first of these was on 13 May in Jaipur. The series of nine blasts over a span of 15 minutes claimed 63 lives, and injured 216. The second series of nine bomb blasts took place on 25 July in Bangalore, and claimed 2 lives, while injuring 20. The next day, on 26 July in Ahmedabad, a spurt of 21 blasts killed 56 people and injured over 200.

The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the Jaipur bombings through an email sent to Indian media and declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of United States' policies, most notably the war in Afghanistan. The Times of India has reported that either the banned organization Students Islamic Movement of India or the militant organization Lashkar-e-Toiba could be behind the blasts in Bangalore. Similar to the Jaipur case, after the Ahmedabad blasts, several TV channels reported that they received e-mails from the Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the terror attacks.

Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, but allege that local Muslims are given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Details

Five blasts took place within a span of 31 minutes from 18:07 to 18:38 IST[12] (12:37 to 13:08 UTC) in busy markets or commercial localities. Four bombs were defused.

The first blast took place at 18:07 at Ghaffar market (a municipal market along a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh) in which at least 20 people were injured. They were rushed to nearby RML hospital. The explosive was kept near a car, and resulted in a cylinder blast in an auto rickshaw, which was subsequently thrown up several feet into the air.

Immediately after, two explosions took place in Connaught Place in which at least 10 people were injured. Police and witnesses said that the bombs went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. The first of these blasts occurred on Barakhamba Road, near Nirmal Tower and Gopal Das Bhavan at 18:34. A minute later, the second bomb exploded in the newly constructed Central Park in the centre of the Connaught Place roundabout, built above one of the main stations of the Delhi Metro. An eyewitness reportedly saw two men place the bomb in a dustbin at Central Park.

Subsequently, two explosions rocked M-Block market in Greater Kailash-I at 18:37 and 18:38 – the first near the popular Prince Paan Corner, and the other near a Levi's store. The latter damaged 10 shops.

Preliminary examination of the blast site said that low intensity ammonium nitrate tied to integrated circuits with timer devices had been used in almost all the serial blasts.

Four bombs were also defused - the first one at India Gate, the second outside Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, the third in Connaught Place, and the fourth on Parliament Street.

On the evening of 13 September 2008, IBN reported at least 30 deaths and over 100 injured. AFP reported that "Indian police (New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat) said Sunday that 20 people were killed and close to 100 injured."

Response

Police and security

Security was tightened across the national capital, with police personnel fanning out to railway and Metro stations, hospitals, bus terminals, the airport and other sensitive points like cinema halls, shopping malls and religious places. Barricades were put up on most city roads to check traffic. Several major markets, including the Sarojini Nagar market, which was targeted in the previous Diwali-eve blasts in 2005, were shut down and evacuated. Cyber-café owners were asked to keep a tab on customers.

A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) spokesperson state that "security has already been strengthened and frisking and checking of the commuters have been stepped up. The Metro is under constant vigil". He added that extra personnel had been pressed into service to keep an eye on commuters.

Press confusion

The confusion in the aftermath of the blasts was evident in the press reports immediately following. The general consensus was that the blasts had claimed 18 lives.However, there was some disparity, with CNN claiming as low as 15, to NDTV claiming as high as 30.

There was also some controversy over blast sites and the sites where bombs were defused, most notably that where Zee News reported a bomb being defused at Central Park, while the Outlook Magazine stated that the park was a bomb site.

Responsibility

The Islamist "Indian Mujahideen" sent an e-mail to all major TV channels, informing them of the blasts just after the first one occurred.[18] In the case of the bomb blasts in Jaipur, and Ahmedabad, e-mails were sent before the blasts.

“ Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. Within 5 minutes from now... This time with the Message of Death, dreadfully terrorising you for your sins. And thus our promise will be fulfilled. Inshallah...Do whatever you want and stop us if you can

The email was sent from Arbi Hindi (al_arbi_delhi@yahoo.com). The email threatened nine blasts.[1][18] A 13-page attached document depicts photographs of the previous blasts under the caption "our jihad". The Delhi blasts are, according to the email, a direct reaction to the raids carried on and after the Ahmedabad blasts, and "harassments imposed by your (Indian) ATS and the police on the innocent Muslims". The document also mentions Amarnath dispute, violence against Christians in Orissa, Babri Masjid demolition and Gujarat riots.

The email was traced to Chembur, an eastern suburb of Mumbai. Mumbai's anti-Terrorism squad (ATS) confirmed that WiFi of the owner firm "Kamran Power" was hacked and used for sending the mail.

Reports claim that the Indian Mujahideen called this operation "Operation B-A-D", encompassing the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi Bombings.[14] Intelligence officials had intercepted a call made "from the across the border" claiming "Operation BAD is successful", after the Ahmedabad blasts, which the Gujarat police that interpreted as Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, though the dates and specific places were not known.

Four people were detained for questioning by Rajasthan police regarding the blasts. A lead has already been traced by the police. Initial police investigations suggested the involvement of several Islamic militant organizations like Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Student's Islamic Movement of India or Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba. Concerns are also being raised about the possible involvement of al-Qaeda. In a statement, militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba denied its involvement in the attacks.

Police officials say that the bomb blasts in Jaipur follow patterns similar to those observed during the bomb blasts in Hyderabad and Varanasi. The Indian Police revealed that the bombs planted were of low intensity but by placing them in highly crowded areas, the terrorists had ensured that the death toll would be high. The Times of India quoted Additional Director General of Rajasthan Police officer as saying that the terrorists had planted "highly explosive RDX" with timers on bicycles, a technique which was also used during the terror attacks in Uttar Pradesh in November, 2007 (in which the involvement of Bangladesh's Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is also suspected). The police has also found striking similarity between the Jaipur bombings and Hyderabad bombings. On May 15, a police officer said,

"About 1.5 kg of Neogel with metal ball-bearings was put in boat-shaped wooden cases in Jaipur and Hyderabad. In both cases, timers were used. The similarities in the signatures of the bombs are shocking"

The police said that they had identified the people who had sold bicycles to the attackers. The bicycle sellers said that the bombers spoke Bengali language, adding credibility to police claims that the terrorists might be Bangladeshis. A police official said,

The employees [of the bicycle shop] have told us that they did not look like Rajasthanis and spoke in broken Hindi. In fact they were speaking Bengali, which has again given rise to speculation that the militants were from a Bangladeshi outfit.

On May 14, the Indian police released a sketch of a suspect. A day later, the police released sketches of three additional suspects. A shop owner in Udaipur claimed he saw one of the suspects a few days back

Claim of responsibility

A little-known group Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks and sent a video to Aaj Tak via e-mail supposedly featuring the bicycles wrapped with explosives used during the terror attacks. The address from which the e-mail was sent was reported to be "guru_alhindi_jaipur@yahoo.co.uk". News agencies reported that the video showed a serial number on one of the bicycles as '129489'. Police officials confirmed that the bicycle used in Choti Choupad blast had the same serial number. However, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje also suggested that a secondary objective of the e-mail could also be to mislead the investigating authorities.

In the e-mail, the group threatened an "open war against India" unless it stops supporting the United States and United Kingdom on "international issues".[35] It also said that it would "demolish the faith (Hinduism)" of the "infidels of India".

Domestic reactions

The President of India, Pratibha Patil expressed her grief at the loss of lives in the blasts and appealed for calm while the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, pledged the Government of India's support to the state Government of Rajasthan and the victims' families. The Prime Minister also said:

The terrorists have the advantage of attacking by stealth but there is no lack of firmness in dealing with this menace. All possible precautions are being taken. It would be premature on my part to comment anything as it will interfere with the investigations.

Singh also defended the Government’s intelligence mechanisms saying the number of cases that the intelligence agencies had anticipated and prevented was "significant". He observed:

There are many cases where security agencies have foiled attempts. Many cases were anticipated. I don’t want to talk about what they were able to prevent.

Indian Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, conveyed his condolences to the victims' families. The Government of India announced 100,000 INR compensation to the next kin of those dead in the terrorist attacks and 50,000 INR ex gratia to those seriously injured. An emergency meeting of Indian cabinet ministers was also held later during the day. Foreign Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, said he was going to raise the issue of 'cross-border terrorism' with Pakistan's government during his visit to Islamabad next week. Indian Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said that the blasts won't affect India's business climate. India's National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, said that the intelligence agencies were looking into all possible aspects of the blasts and no major breakthrough in ongoing investigations were made.

The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, said "I condemn this blast. They have tried to ruin the communal harmony of the state but they will not succeed. Never in the history of Rajasthan such a heinous incident has happened and this is not an attack on the state but on the nation". She also added, "there are some slender leads on which the state agencies are working and its difficult to name any terror outfit at present". The Chief Minister also laid emphasis on a new anti-terror legislation either similar to POTA or to the one in the neighbouring state of Gujarat. She also criticised the President of India for not signing an anti-terror bill passed by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly in 2006. Raje also expressed her concern that the terrorist attacks in Jaipur will negatively affect the tourism industry there. The Chief Minister also said that Rajasthan will have its own anti-terror force and also proposed a joint task force between Indian states.

India's main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), blamed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-government for not taking adequate measures against terrorism in India and re-newed calls for POTA were made. The BJP also demanded that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence should be on international terror watch-list.] India's Leader of Opposition, L. K. Advani, said "The blasts are reflective of the states' inability to preempt these strikes." Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused the UPA government of adopting double standards on terrorism and said, "The UPA-led government at the Centre should make the people realise that it is committed to curb terrorism spreading in our country."

International reactions

• United Nations - UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon's spokesman said, "[Ban Ki-moon] strongly condemns such terrorist attacks, and sends his heartfelt sympathies to the Government of India and to the families of the victims."
• European Union - President of European Comission, >Jose Manuel Barroso, said "On behalf of the European Commission and on my own behalf, allow me to offer you and the people of India our sincere condolences, and the expression of our deepest sympathy and solidarity with the families of the victims." In a statement the European Union members offered their "deepest condolences to the families of the victims." The EU also added, "These attacks clearly demonstrate that terrorism is a serious threat to all states and to all peoples. No cause, no grievance can justify acts of terrorism."
• Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai said he "understood India's pain" and that his government stands by the people of India in this hour of tragedy.
• Australia - Australian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "the attack on a democratic, tolerant, open society is repugnant. Australian and Indian law enforcement agencies continue to work together in our common fight against terrorism."
• Bangladesh - Foreign Affairs advisor said, "It was a mindless and shameful act that deserves condemnation in the strongest terms. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and sympathies to the Indian authorities. These are terrorists who have done this sordid and heinous deeds, and terrorists have no boundaries." The advisor also said that Indian media reports of linking the attacks to Bangladesh-based HuJI were premature.
• Canada - Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said, "On behalf of all Canadians, I extend my condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We stand firmly united with the government of India, a proud and strong democracy, in condemning these acts of terror. Among our [India and Canada] mutual priorities is close cooperation to fight terrorism."
• Chile - A statement issued by Chile's Foreign Ministry said, "Chile's government would like to convey its deep condolences and expression of solidarity to the Indian authorities and the victims' relatives. Chile expresses its most emphatic repudiation and condemnation of these acts and hopes for the early recuperation of those injured in the attacks."
• France - President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his deepest condolences over the "morrow of the blasts that have painfully plunged Jaipur in mourning. France most firmly condemns this barbaric and despicable act. I would like to express the solidarity of my country in the ordeal that you are suffering. France remains by your side in the fight against the scourge of terrorism." Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said "I wish to express my indignation and repugnance at the wave of attacks that have plunged the city of Jaipur into mourning. France is more than ever willing to intensify cooperation with India in the anti-terrorist struggle. Today we are at the side of India and the Indian people in the face of this inconceivable horror. We wish to assure the Indian government of our full support."
• Israel - Israeli embassy in New Delhi said in a statement that Israel understood the "enormity of the tragedy" and that "Israel extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and its wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured." The Israeli government also said that it was up to the [international] community to act in a "concerted and unified manner" to fight terrorism.
• Pakistan - Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani released the following statement, "Pakistan condemns all acts of terrorism and reaffirms its firm commitment to fight this scourge together with the international community."[36] Pakistan also proposed a joint 'anti-terrorism strategy' with India.
• People's Republic of China - Foreign Ministry spokesman said, the "the Chinese government would like to express deep grief over the victims in the terrorist attack and convey sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims and those wounded in the attack. China is firmly opposed to terrorism of any form and is ready to work together with the international community to make unremitting efforts to safeguard world peace and stability."
• Turkey - Foreign Ministry said, "We share the grief of the Indian people. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims of the attacks as well as to the people and the Government of India. We also wish speedy recovery to those wounded. In this context, Turkey strongly condemns these heinous terrorist attacks which were aimed at disrupting the stability of India."
• United Arab Emirates - Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said, "UAE strongly condemns the blasts in Jaipur and expressed full solidarity with the government of India in its measures against terrorism."
• United Kingdom - Foreign Minister David Miliband said, "Bombings in Jaipur have shown again the horrific destruction which terrorism brings. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and with those injured. There can never be any justification for acts of indiscriminate violence such as these, and I utterly condemn those who have perpetrated Tuesday's attacks. The UK will continue to stand with the government and people of India against terrorism in all its manifestations."
• United States - The US State Department said in a statement, "There is no justification for the murder of innocent people. The United States stands with India in the fight to eliminate the scourge of terrorism." The United States has also offered Indian security and intelligence agencies assistance in probing the attacks.