Bomb Attack on Bombay Trains Kills 147

Las Vegas Sun ^ | July 11, 2006 at 13:16:47 PDT | RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

0711dv-india-blasts Eight bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing at least 147 people and wounding more than 400 in what authorities called a well-coordinated terrorist attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the bombings, which came in quick succession - a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants. The blasts came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of Kashmir.

India's major cities were put on high alert. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convened an emergency Cabinet meeting and said that "terrorists" were behind the attacks, which he called "shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror among our citizens."

Pakistan, India's rival over the disputed territory of Kashmir, quickly condemned the bombings.

Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India's financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart densely packed carriages on trains that police said had either pulled into stations or were traveling between them. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and witnesses said body parts were strewn on the ground.

After meeting with his Cabinet, Maharashtra state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said Tuesday night that the death toll was 147, with another 439 wounded.

Deshmukh, the state's top elected official, also corrected initial reports of seven blasts, saying there had actually been eight, including two at one station.

Authorities struggled to treat survivors and recover the dead in the wreckage amid heavy monsoon downpours, and the effort continued into the night. Survivors clutched bandages to their heads and faces, and some frantically dialed their cell phones. Luggage and debris were spattered with blood.

There was no immediate indication if suicide bombers were involved. Police inspector Ramesh Sawant said most of the victims suffered head and chest injuries, leading authorities to believe the bombs were placed in overhead luggage racks.

"I can't hear anything," said Shailesh Mhate, a man in his 20s, sitting on the floor of Veena Desai Hospital surrounded by bloody cotton swabs. "People around me didn't survive. I don't know how I did."

Another man, bloody bandages over his eyes, held out a phone to a nurse, begging her to call his wife and tell her he was OK.

In Washington, the State Department said it had no information about whether there were any American casualties.

Commuter transit systems have been tempting targets for terrorists in recent years, with bombers killing 191 in Madrid, Spain, in 2004, and 52 in London last year.

A senior Bombay police official, P.S. Pasricha, said the Bombay explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Bombay is located, said bombs had caused all the explosions.

Police reportedly carried out raids across the country following the Bombay blasts. One TV station said a suspect was in custody.

Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had had some information that an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known."

The bombings occurred after the stock markets ended. The commercial capital suffered similar serial blasts in 1993 that included the Bombay Stock Exchange, killing more than 250 people.

The first explosion hit a train at a railway station in the suburb of Bandra about 6:20 p.m., and was followed down the line of the Western Railway at Khar, Jogeshwari, Mahim, Mira Road, Matunga and finally Borivili, which was struck by two blasts at 6:35 p.m., according to the Star News channel.

Some passengers reportedly jumped from speeding trains in panic.

India's CNN-IBN television news, which had a reporter aboard one train, said a blast struck a first-class compartment as the train was moving, ripping through the compartment and killing more than a dozen people.

The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the blasts had hit first-class cars.

Pranay Prabhakar, the spokesman for the Western Railway, said all train service had been suspended and appealed to the public to stay away from stations in the city of 16 million people - India's principal port on the Arabian Sea.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned upon independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir.

Dozens of militant groups have been fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, demanding the mostly Muslim region's independence, or its merger with Pakistan.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry late Tuesday strongly condemned the Bombay attacks.

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf offered condolences over the loss of life, the Foreign Ministry said, adding: "Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively."

New Delhi has accused Pakistan of training, arming and funding the militants. Islamabad insists it only offers the rebels diplomatic and moral support.

Accusations of Pakistani involvement in a 2001 attack on India's parliament put the nuclear-armed rivals on the brink of a fourth war. But since then, Pakistan and India embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including their conflicting claims to all of Jammu-Kashmir.

In Washington, two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the events were still unfolding said it was too early to know for certain what group was behind the attacks. But both officials said they were likely part of the sectarian violence over Kashmir.

One of the officials said the attacks' coordinated nature and their targeting of trains at peak travel times match the modus operandi of two Islamic extremist groups that have been active in India during the last several years: Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, or Army of the Righteous, and Jaish-e-Mohammad, or Army of Mohammed.

The U.S. government has designated both groups as terrorist organizations and considers them affiliates of al-Qaida.

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[sukhoi-30mki]

Oh yes,Dawood,our old pal-say isn't he living in Karachi now,in a neighbourhood with lots of Pakistani army biggies having houses.

[3niner]

"It looks like al-Qaeda or an Islamofascist offshoot has decided to add another nation to its blood enemies."

Thay have been killing people in India, right along. This is just the biggest attack there since they blew up the stock exchange in 1993. In terms of number of injuries, this might be even bigger.

[Gengis Khan]

In the West the people are against the WOT. Bush administration is one solitary government vainly trying to garner popular support around the world for the WOT while many people in Europe and elsewhere are chickening out.

In India its quite the opposite. Indian people are screaming for war but our government is headed by a bunch of cowards. Indian people are ready to take as much casualties as maybe necessary for this war. If only we could have a combination a Bush administration like government and the willingness of Indians we would be slamming the Paki Muzzies against the wall.

[An_Indian]

i dont think are any less people in west who want to fight this war. its just that the media is full of shitholes and faggots who do not let voices of these people known.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

David Horowitz is a tremendous asset to this country....and he has a book:

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Unholy Alliance : Radical Islam and the American Left (Hardcover)

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And a review:

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Communism is dead. Long live Islam!, September 30, 2004

Reviewer:

Kevin Beckman (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

It sounds absurd: why would Leftists make common cause with a religion that is diametrically opposed to everything the Left stands for? David Horowitz explains that it is really quite logical given the Left's first principle: America is evil and anything or anyone opposed to America is good.

Part I of the book is a brief history of 9/11 through the end of major combat operations in Iraq, and the Left's behavior during this time. Horowitz includes the reaction of Katha Pollitt of The Nation magazine: "The flag stands for vengeance, and jingoism, and war." Anthropology Professor Nicholas De Genova of Columbia University said he hoped for "a million Mogadishus." His colleagues objected, not to the despicable sentiment, but because of the bad publicity it brought their "teach-in." Our tax dollars at work!

Part II is the heart of the book: a history of the American and international Left. Horowitz calls them Neo-Communists or Neocoms. The Neocoms of old believed in the Soviet Union the way religious people believe in God. Those who spied for the USSR didn't see themselves as traitors to their country, but rather loyalists to humanity and an ideal of America that's never existed. When the Soviet Union fell, a few of them stopped for some introspection but most pressed on as if nothing happened. Communist historian Eric Hobsbawm put it nicely: "Without the Revolution, my life and my work are meaningless."

Now that they no longer have to defend an indefensible regime, modern Neocoms are simply nihilists. They know what they oppose but they have no plans for the aftermath of the revolution which they still believe will happen. They don't know what they want, but they know what they hate: the United States, capitalism personified.

So why are they allying with radical Islam? Horowitz says that the Neocoms still believe in Marx's dictum that "religion is the opiate of the masses." Once private property is abolished, the need for religion will vanish, and Islamic radicals will stop being Islamic and radical. The only thing standing in the way is the United States.

Sound insane? It is. They are. I highly recommend this book. Horowitz makes the insanity understandable.

[MimirsWell]

Proves to me that the Indian intelligence are a bunch of idiots. The Americans have a warning up weeks in advance and we are clueless even after it happened.

Exactly how are we going to make Pakistan pay for this and the losses they regularly inflict us with? Someone needs to make this stop.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Actually the hard question is can we make this stop?-If the experiences of a courageous nation like Israel is anything,well we can't,but we sure can limit it.But the problem is we have very few opportunities to do that.Hitting the Pakis would seem ideal-but till what extent is any government(UPA/NDA/3rd front whatever),willing to go????The Pakis will look to escalate any conflict & Uncle Sam just doesn't support India the way it does Israel.The last real window of opportunity we had was in December-jan 0f 2001-02.The Vajpayee govt should have hit them then,but didn't for a number of reasons.A token strike across the LOC would serve to be reminder to the Pakis,but will it stop the terror???These idiots just don't think rationally.They are willing to go nuclear at the drop of a hat-are we???????

So the hard fact,we just cannot expect much from any govt & I will say this,keeping in mind the compulsions all of them face(barring the communist bastards).The best we can & should do is to downgrade this stupid Aar Ya Paar Peace Process with Pakistan which has pretty much been going on since the Gujral era & increase border security(along Pakistan,Bangladesh & Nepal borders) in addition to stepping up domestic intelligence gathering capabilities.Most of the State IB's resources are used to keep tabs on the mistresses of opposition leaders,so that takes a lot to be diverted.One step that can be done is to reduce the chances of shanty towns & ghettoes emerging in important cities-most state governments thankfully have realised that.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Indian intelligence is too politicised to be of any real use??but in a place like Mumbai,how useful is intelligence?Besides,they would need the Police & it's resources to enforce any crackdown/preventive measures.The Police were trying to prevent a bunch of goons from further trouble because of some idiotic statue.I wouldn't have minded if that incident was about some late Indian or Maratha leader or even hindu deity.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Those who look at World Events understand what we see realize that these killers kill more Moslems than any other group or religion. They would just as soon carry out an attack like this in Pakistan and have, or Iraq and have, or Algeria and have.

[sukhoi-30mki]

I forgot to add-India must play the same game as these pigs & fortunately it is,on a limited scale.We need to upgrade funding to Balochi & Sindhi groups as well as those in Pakistan's Northern Areas.That's been a thorn in their side for the past 2-3 years.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Put me on your ping list I am a great admirer of India. My sympathies on the price these scum have extracted from the Indian people.

It is rather amazing they have not been able to pull off similiar incidents in the US since 911.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Attacks like this occur within Pakistan as well. It is not the enemy here.

[sukhoi-30mki]

The US is easier to protect.The persons who are most likely to attack the US are likely to belong to a particular racial/religious group,which is not difficult to identify.On the other hand,how much can you differentiate between an urban Indian hindu & Muslim or for that matter an urban Indian & a Pakistani???

[sukhoi-30mki]

Yeah right!!!& how come the Lashkar -E-Taiba is still existing there??Oops did I forget to mention that they also recieve training in camps running by the Pakistani army.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Pakistan is as much a victim as is Saudi Arabia.They gave birth to these scum,are suffering a bit now- & have not changed their colours.

[Gengis Khan]

Unfortunately it is.

Lashkar e Toiba based in Muridke Pakistan is the prime suspect. LET was banned for sometime in Pakistan but now its back in business, operating quite freely in there. LET has close links with Al Qaida. The explosive used on the train was RDX which could have only come from across the border.

[Gengis Khan]

You are most welcome!

[newfarm4000n]

Nice profile

[MimirsWell]

With funding the Sindhi and Bluchi groups, I don't concur. I would rather not get our hands dirty. I'll tell you why, one day the opposition party comes to power, finds this document in the archives that a government funded a bombing in Pakistan, and then to gain political mileage, they'll ban the other political paty which was in power when that happened. And supporting terrorist parties can't be an overtly announced mission that any government can proclaim in today's world.

I think we should give up our no-first use policy and simply get done with Pakistan. There's no other way to go about it. Or perhaps another way would be to completely bomb down Pakistan and disarm the entire nation. Get the Afghans, Americans and Israelis together and take away every single weapon Pakistan has, bombs, guns, missiles and everything. Disband their Army, and arrange to have them all killed. Make a modern day Japan out of Pakistan. They should have no rights to an army of their own.

[sukhoi-30mki]

I agree with you,but that's the only way forward.The premise that Pakistan is more homogenous than India is utterly flawed.That has left a huge number of holes in their political fabric-Bengalis(till 1971),Balochis,Sindhis,Pathans,Shiite/Sunni divisions.....The Indira Gandhi Govt had that policy,which was in essence in continued by all outfits since then(barring the Morarji & Gujral disasters).In other words,there is political continuity on this vital issue.Only the level of action has ebbed & flowed.For eg,will the BJP ban the Congress or the other way around???If either do,they are buried!!!Maulana Mulayam may,but he is set to be confined to the dustbin of Indian politics.

About somebody banning a political party to gain mileage.Id think that the outfit which authorised such an operation would get 450+ seats in parliament!Indian voters have always been more or less jingoistic whenever governments have taken bold policy decisions....the 71 war,Brass Tacks,Kargil,Pokhran.

About your NFU change-I truly concur.If we do that,we really may not even need to use a Bofors 155MM,let alone a nuke.Ambiguity about when he may get incinerated is the last thing an enemy needs.Pakistan has used that to keep us on our toes-we'l have to return the favour.It was a big mistake on Vajpayee's part to incorporate NFU explicitly into their Nuclear Doctrine,which otherwise is a perfectly sensible document.