Militants blamed for series of courthouse bombs that kill 13

A SERIES of explosions ripped through courthouse complexes yesterday in three north Indian cities, Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad, killing at least 13 lawyers and injuring dozens of other people.

Federal authorities blamed militants trying to spark unrest between India’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority, though a legal group noted the blasts came in a state where lawyers had decided earlier this year not to defend terrorist suspects.

At least seven lawyers were killed in three explosions in Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, said Brij Lal, a top official in Uttar Pradesh state, where all three cities are located.