At least five bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded markets and streets in the heart of India's capital New Delhi today, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more.
The Indian Mujahideen militant group, which says it has carried out several major attacks in recent months, sent an email to local television stations saying it was responsible for the bombs.
Police and witnesses said two went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. Others exploded in busy markets around the city, within minutes of each other.
The Indian Mujahideen email talked of nine bombs. Police said they had found and defused three bombs.
"So far 18 people have died," Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal told reporters.
Hundreds of people have been killed in a wave of bombings in India in recent years, mostly blamed on Muslim militants, with targets ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains.
In July, at least 45 people were killed after a series of bombs ripped through Ahmedabad, the main city of the western state of Gujarat. The attack came a day after bombs killed one woman in the IT hub of Bangalore.
The failure to prevent the attacks has become an embarrassment for the Congress party-led coalition government, with elections less than a year away.
Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India, but say local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The deadliest attack in recent years came in July 2006, when seven bombs exploded on Mumbai's railway system killing more than 180 people. The last major attack to hit the capital was in 2005, when about 66 people were killed when three bombs exploded in busy markets.