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Mumbai death toll climbs On July 11 a well timed series of bomb blasts ripped through the Mumbai subway system during the evening rush hour. The seven explosions (an eighth bomb failed to go off) killed at least 180 commuters and injured hundreds more.The detonations occurred within a 10-minute window along one of the subway system's main lines. The attack resembled those in Madrid in 2004 and London last year, in targeting urban transit and involving coordinated explosives placement and detonation. Like the London blasts, which occurred as British Prime Minister Tony Blair hosted the G8 summit in Scotland, the Mumbai attack occurred a few days before the commencement of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Authorities were quick to blame terrorists. Although no one claimed responsibility, officials suggested that extremist Islamist groups fighting over the territory of Kashmir, the focus of a longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan, were responsible. A link to Kashmir seemed plausible given that a grenade attack was launched in Srinagar, the major city in the Indian portion of Kashmir, just hours prior to the Mumbai attacks. While India was careful not to blame Pakistan directly, its foreign ministry drew an angry response by issuing a statement immediately after the attacks calling on Pakistan to clamp down on militants operating from its territory. Police said they had known an attack was coming, but didn't know the time or location. Security on the subway system and on other systems throughout India and around the world was drastically tightened following the attacks.
Planners chose the crowded Mumbai rush hour for the bomb attacks, with devastating effect |
