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Sat May 19th, 2007
Indus hate attacks on
Muslims
At least nine people have died and 17 have been injured in an
explosion at a historic mosque in the southern Indian city of
Hyderabad.
One Indian news agency said that anti-riot police may have
also shot dead an additional three people in violent protests
which followed the attack on the 17th-century shrine on
Friday.
The explosion occured when Friday prayers were underway at
Mecca Masjid, the city's main mosque, police said.
The NDTV news channel quoted officials as saying that two
other bombs were successfully defused by bomb disposal teams.
"I heard the blast when the prayer ended. I saw people
rushing out," one witness said.
Men in blood-soaked long white shirts were seen rushing
through the crowds and getting into an ambulance. Another
person was seen being carried to the ambulance.
Local television showed hundreds of men and boys rushing out
of the mosque.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) said that anti-riot police may
have shot dead three people in violent protests which followed
the attack on the 17th-century shrine.
PTI said: "There is confusion whether the other three
[shot dead] succumbed to injuries or in subsequent police
firing on people protesting in the aftermath of the
explosion."
"This is an intentional sabotage of the peace and
tranquility of the state"
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Andhra Pradesh state chief minister
There was no immediate confirmation of the PTI report but
officials from the federal secret service, the Intelligence
Bureau, confirmed at least two deaths in police firing.
Officials from Hyderabad said the bomb was placed close to the
prayer area in the ancient shrine and two unexploded
"improvised devices" were later defused.
Indus dirty bombs causing
havocs
Hundreds of police in riot gear have deployed throughout the
mostly deserted streets of Hyderabad after a bomb blast at a
mosque.
Most shops closed for a daylong strike on Saturday to protest
Friday's attack at the 17th-century Mecca mosque in the
southern Indian city.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack
that killed 11 people and the ensuing clashes with police that
left five more dead.
Officials refused to publicly say who they suspect
Authorities across India were told to be alert for any signs
of Hindu-Muslim clashes, and top officials called for calm.
Protesters planted black mourning flags across the city, and
families of those killed prepared for funerals.
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh
state, where Hyderabad is located, called the bombing an act
of "intentional sabotage on the peace and tranquility in
the country."
Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, also condemned the
attack, the second on a mosque in a year, and urged Indians to
remain peaceful.
Breakthrough likely
Rajesh Sundaram, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said
investigators suspect the blast is the handiwork of a foreign
group.
Sundaram said the improvised device was exploded using a
mobile phone as a remote detonator.
Investigators were examining evidence from the SIM card chip
found in one of the phones used in two devices that did not
detonate. Sundaram said they were hopeful of making a
breakthrough soon.
These bombs did not go off because the SIM cards in the phones
had expired, police said.
Motive
"One of the things which appears to have been done at
many places in the country is to attack religious places so
that bad blood develops between different communities,"
Shivraj Patil, India's home minister said Hyderabad.
Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi-based
Institute for Conflict Management, said it is likely groups
responsible for last year's blasts were behind this one too.
"At this juncture, there is nothing to suggest there is
any deviation from past incidents," he said.
"Consequently, we will have to assume it is the same
groups which were responsible for Malegaon and Jama Masjid.
The objective remains the same -- to create suspicion that the
attack was by Hindus and create a Hindu-Muslim polarisation
and violence."
esinislam.com + Agencies
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