Indian blasts ‘work of Islamic group’
The group, identifying itself as the “Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahedeen”, warned such attacks would continue in Assam state, police said.
“The Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahedeen takes the responsibility for yesterday’s blasts,” said the message to the Newslive television network in Assam. “We warn all of Assam and India for situations like this in the future,” added the message.
A police spokesman said the group is believed to have come into existence in 2000 in western Assam, where tribal Bodo militants are campaigning against Muslim settlers from nearby Bangladesh.
The group has not been active recently in Assam, where more than a dozen militant groups are campaigning for demands ranging from independence to greater autonomy.
The police’s suspicion had centred on the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom, which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979, but the ULFA had denied its involvement.
Police say they are questioning about a dozen people over the attacks.
Twelve blasts, all within the space of an hour, hit the insurgency-hit state on Thursday, six of them ripping through crowded areas in the main city of Guwahati.
Some of the bombs had been strapped to bicycles and packed with incendiary material to trigger fires.
Assam home commissioner Subhas Das said 15 people had died of their injuries overnight, taking the toll to 76, of whom 43 were killed in Guwahati.
Three other districts in western Assam were also targeted. The total number of injured stood at more than 300.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, in New Delhi on an official visit, condemned what he called an “act of terrorism targeting civilians”, while Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh vowed to bring the bombers to justice.
“Such barbaric acts targeting innocent men, women and children only highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible,” Singh said, adding he would visit Assam today.
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