INDIA: At least 37 people, including women and children, were killed in a series of bomb blasts yesterday in a Muslim-majority town in western India's Maharashtra state.
Federal home secretary VK Duggal said another 200 were injured in the three blasts that rocked the small town of Malegaon, 260km (160 miles) northeast of Mumbai, the state capital and India's financial hub, triggering a fatal stampede.
Eyewitnesses said the death toll could rise as many of the injured were in serious condition.
"I've seen seven dead bodies being carried inside the hospital," local resident Suresh Nikam told a television news channel surrounded by scenes of chaos and mayhem.
"People have shut their shops and are going back home. But they have also reached the hospital to donate blood," he said.
Mr Duggal said no one had claimed responsibility for the blasts, adding that military experts had been called in to identify the explosives used.
Officials said two of the explosions took place at about 2pm local time near a Muslim burial ground, while the third happened soon after outside the Nurani mosque in the crowded city centre, packed with worshippers for Friday afternoon prayers.
Preliminary reports from Malegaon, quoting unnamed police officers, indicate that two of the bombs may have been rigged to a bicycle, while the third outside the mosque may have been secreted in a bouquet of flowers.
Thousands of Muslims had gathered at the town's main mosque to mark "Shab-e-Barat" or the "night of forgiveness or atonement", when they pray for their dead, believing it would absolve them of their own sins ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
Malegaon, which has a history of sectarian violence, was tense after the blasts with angry mobs burning several shops and at least two police jeeps. Irate residents also prevented police from reaching the blast site.
Officials said seven policemen were injured in scuffles before a curfew was imposed to prevent revenge attacks that have, in the past, led to spiralling communal violence across India. Federal paramilitary forces had also been rushed to the area to enforce order, officials said.
Local authorities have suspended mobile telephone networks to prevent people from sending inflammatory messages that could potentially stir trouble.
Communal tension has been rife in Malegaon's population of 1.5 million, about 70 per cent of them Muslims, since the early 1960s. More recently 15 people died in clashes between Hindus and Muslims in 2001.
Earlier this year police recovered a cache of explosives and automatic rifles from Malegaon which they claimed were intended for Islamist groups.
Yesterday's explosions came days after India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, told state chief ministers that federal intelligence agencies had warned against additional terrorist attacks across the country, possibly on economic and religious targets and also on the country's nuclear installations.
The attacks also followed a series of bombs on crowded commuter trains in Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people in July.
Federal home minister Shivraj Patil said the Malegaon blasts were an attempt to disturb peace and communal harmony and appealed for calm.