Breaking: Terror blasts in India, 60 Dead Updates: Military curfew in effect, according to HA source
posted at 11:37 am on May 13, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Terrorists in India set off a coordinated attack of at least five bombs in the city of Jaipur today. Authorities report at least twelve dead and a hundred injured, and those numbers may climb:
Terrorists set off five powerful bomb blasts at crowded markets in Pink City Jaipur in a span of ten minutes on Tuesday night, killing 12 people and injuring about 100.
According to television reports, the blasts went off around 1935 hours IST. …
Rajasthan Director General of Police A S Gill said it was ‘obviously a terror attack’.
Initial indications are that at least one of the devices was a car bomb, while another went off inside one of the stores. This sounds like an al-Qaeda operation based on that description. AQ likes to coordinate their attacks for maximum carnage, and they have used car bombs on many occasions to target trade. However, the media in India believe that the rise in terrorist attacks may come from Sikh militants in Punjab instead, targeting smaller towns that may have less ability to defend themselves.
Jaipur is no village, however. It has a population of over 2.3 million people, and serves as the capital of the state of Rajasthan. It has apparently experienced rapid modernization and has a substantial economy. It also has a large Muslim population.
We’ll keep an eye on further developments.
Update: The BBC calls Jaipur a “popular tourist destination”. Rajasthan borders on Pakistan, but Jaipur is on the opposite end of the state.
Update II: Reuters says one of its reporters has seen 25 dead bodies, and that the number of blasts have gone to seven. This looks like quite a large terrorist operation, which again indicates AQ.
Update III: Police say it’s now 30 dead, according to the AP. Commenter Matticus Finch has a contact in Jaipur, who says that the military has taken control of the city and will enforce a curfew for at least 2-3 days.
Update IV: That same AP report notes that today is the day of worship set aside for the monkey god Hanuman, and at least one of the blasts hit nearby the temple for Hanuman in Jaipur. Could this have been the motivation for the attack?
Update V: Robert Spencer links to a PTI report that says jihadists from HuJI conducted these attacks:
Banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI), operating from Bangladesh, is believed to be behind the serial blasts that rocked the tourist city of Jaipur on Tuesday evening, killing nearly 50 people besides injuring several others.
Though baffled by the attack as Jaipur was not on the terror radar, sources said the tell-tale signs of the blasts indicate HuJI’s hand.
The blasts showed that HuJI, which is being mainly run from Bangladesh, has managed to establish cells in Rajasthan and that the outfit was responsible for previous major terror attacks including the New Year eve attack on CRPF camp in Rampur and serial blasts in three other places in Uttar Pradesh.
They may have received help from Jaish-e-Mohammed as well. HuJI has ties to Osama bin Laden and operate primarily in Kashmir. JeM has much the same pedigree.
Update VI: AFP reports 60 dead, 150 injured. They also have a quote from an official that India had no intelligence on a threat before the bombing. AFP confirms earlier reports that the city and state borders have been sealed.
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That was fast, Ed! Beat Drudge to it.
RushBaby on May 13, 2008 at 11:39 AM
India is at fault for stationing their military in Saudi Arabia, they attack them because they are over there.
/paultard moonbat
jp on May 13, 2008 at 11:40 AM
It’s those Methodists again!
Akzed on May 13, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I saw on news the other day that India is about to open the worlds largest Oil Refinery. Plans are to Refine the Oil into gas, and ship gas to the United States. Wouldnt’ be suprised if this becomes a target of the jihadist.
jp on May 13, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Hi Ed,
I doubt if this is work of Sikh terrorists. In all probability it is Islamic terrorists (Pakistan exported + Homegrown). If, however it is indeed a case of sikh terrorism rearing it ugly head again, the main culprits will be extremely sheltered in Canada and UK.
Regards
Gaurav
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Extremists*
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 11:48 AM
SAT TIME:
Spain is to India as..
A. Blaming Basque separasts is to Sikh militants
B. None of the above
BohicaTwentyTwo on May 13, 2008 at 11:51 AM
CNN: At least 20 killed.
amerpundit on May 13, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Hmmm … why are terrorists having a field day in countries that either capitualtion in the War on Terror or don’t have much a presence in the War on Terror?Maybe it is because we, the United States, take the jihadist threat seriously while other countries take it more as a nusiance is the real reason.
TexasDude on May 13, 2008 at 11:52 AM
latest update from my worker in Jaipur: 40 dead, 120 injured. He’s reporting that there were 7 bombs, not 5
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 11:54 AM
There is no global war, nothing to see here.
infidel on May 13, 2008 at 12:01 PM
NDTV: At least 35 killed.
amerpundit on May 13, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Latest frm my guy: Jaipur under police control for 2-3 days at least. All citizens are supposed to stay in their houses. Millitary has been deployed.
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 12:08 PM
No offense but,
1 India has not capitulated.
2. View from India reg. GWOT is different than view from USA.For us it is difficult to comprehend GWOT with state of Pakistan as FATWAT (Frontline Ally in The War Against Terrorism).
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 12:10 PM
The State Department is not familiar with this term “jihad”.
WisCon on May 13, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Have the police ruled out “hate crime” as a motive yet?
forest on May 13, 2008 at 12:17 PM
First report?
IBN now saying 50 dead.
Following tweets here. IBN streaming here.
ganeshpuri89 on May 13, 2008 at 12:21 PM
My Jaipur guy tells me that things have been very peaceful locally between the Muslim and Hindu population. There has been no tension whatsoever.
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 12:23 PM
‘Jaipur blasts may be linked to Pokhran anniversary’
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 12:24 PM
I love Jaipur. This makes me very sad.
MayBee on May 13, 2008 at 12:24 PM
The AQs(probably) figured, with the PAK parliament playing who’s-got-the-judges, it was a ripe time to strike.
God help both these countries if this gets out of hand. India could knock Pakistan in the dirt, but at a terrific cost.
Limerick on May 13, 2008 at 12:26 PM
They’ve actually been in it longer than we have. Kind of on the front lines there. I mean when you have a neighbor to the north that developed nukes specifically as a move for your genocide it kinda puts things into perspective.
- The Cat
MirCat on May 13, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Excellent point, but how else should we handle Pakistan? Bunch of crazies with nukes and half the politicos and intelligence community are in bed with the radicals. If we don’t stay engaged, they tip the other way. Reminds me of what we have to look forward to with Iran.
a capella on May 13, 2008 at 12:29 PM
AQ: Still a threat. Still needs to eliminated from the face of the planet.
Comments, Barry?
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on May 13, 2008 at 12:29 PM
India doesn’t mess around. They’ve been pretty diligent about the GWOT.
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 12:29 PM
If they get dragged into being more aggressive, look for that powder keg to explode. Kashmir is a fuse waiting to be lit.
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Local Jaipur reports: 60 dead, 200 injured
Matticus Finch on May 13, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Thanks for perspective.
Capella, I wish I had the answer. Just to be clear I am not faulting USA for its decision, realpolitik being a bitch and all. What I wanted to say is Pakistan with nukes is the biggest threat to not just India, or USA, but to world. And I will sleep more comfortably in the night if I knew that there was some plan, any plan to take out the nukes in case some unpleasant business is afoot.
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Asians*
dmann on May 13, 2008 at 12:38 PM
No, surely this too is Bush’s fault somehow.
Esthier on May 13, 2008 at 12:41 PM
Polytheists worshipping get targeted
forest on May 13, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Gaurav, out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Mussarif?
- The Cat
MirCat on May 13, 2008 at 12:45 PM
7 blasts, 60+ dead, and 150+ injured. Eight bomb was diffused.
lawhawk on May 13, 2008 at 12:51 PM
As far as Pakistan is concerned I am more comfortable with military guys* because
1. They control the real authority.
2. In case of “land of pure”, I fear voice of people is voice of collective madness.
But my view is in minority. Indian public despises Musharraf for Kargil.
* Of course there was Haq the faithful
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM
The diffused one should be a source of much info.
- The Cat
MirCat on May 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Thats a lot of personnel for coordination/logistics. Indian itel will be turning over rocks and whoever they find won’t be waterboarded, that’s for sure.
Limerick on May 13, 2008 at 12:55 PM
And the libs still won’t see everyone is a target. Holy Shiite, if you do not pray to ‘illah, you are an acceptable target to these people. I’m sorry, I forgot this is because of Israel.
blatantblue on May 13, 2008 at 12:59 PM
(Shaking head) Disgusting.
ganeshpuri89 on May 13, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Gee Texas Dude… you seem to undermine your own argument. India has been in the fight longer and harder than the US. Terrorists don’t really care what strategy you use against them and generally attack whatever targets they are able regardless of the policies of the home countries… plenty of bombs go off in Pakistan despite whatever posture the government has on a given day. India has a range of radical groups at work in various parts of the country with different axes to grind. The government of Pakistan would not have an interest in supporting terrorism in India right now nukes or not. Both countries have enjoyed benefits from the lowering of tensions in recent years.
Jaipur is a lovely place. Sad to see this happen at anytime anywhere.
lexhamfox on May 13, 2008 at 1:02 PM
India out of Iraq!
hadsil on May 13, 2008 at 1:03 PM
Isn’t Hindu itself Polytheistic?
- The Cat
P.S. Thanks, Gaurav. What you said gives me a bit more insight.
MirCat on May 13, 2008 at 1:03 PM
Yep. It’s a little surprising this isn’t happening more often with the especially dim view Islam has of the polytheism.
forest on May 13, 2008 at 1:11 PM
The AP is now confirming at least 45 dead.
amerpundit on May 13, 2008 at 1:17 PM
BTW how does Iraq figure into causing Jihad in India ? We have all heard the Idea that the WOT is causing Jihad to exist rather than the other way around.
Again Lefties how is Iraq causing Jihad here ?
William Amos on May 13, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Given the Sikh belief system, I do agree with you.
Also, given the impetuosity of youth and the young man’s desire to “prove” his strength, it would be very sad indeed for the Sikh philosophy to lose its refined balance between the Hindi and the Muslim to satiate the immediate gratification that the young demand. It is too easy for the terrorist militants to convert the young today.
And it is too easy for the “conservative” elders throughout the world to look aside in hopes that their youth will come to their senses.
It is beyond reason for any American not to realize that our and Europe’s future international relevance will be strongly determined by consistently good relations with India. To avoid a rude awakening, don’t throw rocks at the Hindi who would be your friends, and who you need as an ally. For anyone to expect the world’s respect, anyone must respect the world, religion and forests included.
maverick muse on May 13, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Because all their tech support calls get routed thru India.
America the villian again.
Limerick on May 13, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Exactly, precisely correct.
RushBaby on May 13, 2008 at 1:30 PM
If I was looking on Drudge, I still wouldn’t know anything about this. Again, kudos to Hot Air.
RushBaby on May 13, 2008 at 1:37 PM
* Of course there was Haq the faithful– Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM
maverick muse on May 13, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Video of scene from Reuters
William Amos on May 13, 2008 at 2:19 PM
My initial suspects would be Jaish-e-Muhammed, HuJI-B/P, or LeT — all now affiliated with AQ. The Kashmir intifada is going to heat up.
Tark on May 13, 2008 at 2:54 PM
Of course it must be the Jews…….
georgealbert on May 13, 2008 at 3:13 PM
That may be the problem according to AQ. They are co-existing peacefully something which AQ does not want as it doesn’t support their Jihadist ideology and this is AQ’s way of stoking the fire.
It wouldn’t be the first time AQ has done something like this to stoke the jihadist fire and it sure won’t be the last. It makes sense AQ would want to stoke the Jihadist fire again since that fire seems to have died down somewhat (recruitment, moral, etc. must be down) and therefore AQ’s jihadist movement and call to arms has been diminished.
This attack does have the AQ hallmark and IMHO it looks as though it’s an attempt by AQ to foment religious strife to increase jihadist recruitment and keep the jihadist movement rolling.
Liberty or Death on May 13, 2008 at 4:36 PM
This was always the situation in Indonesia as well. Outside troublemakers come in to stir the pot.
TexasDan on May 13, 2008 at 5:35 PM
My bet is on what Robert Spencer reports as the probable culprit…..He is the most intelligent voice on matters of this kind…..We are lucky to have him here at HA….The guy just knows stuff and always backs it up….Hats off, Robert…
b4lucy on May 13, 2008 at 5:42 PM
How so? Europe and the US have certain things in common with India which warrant cooperation and but there are plenty of important differences as well. There is still a very entrenched caste system in place in India which needs to be confronted as much as any other institutionalized discrimination. There are lots of other issues which need to be addressed to before treating India like a NATO or NAFTA partner.
lexhamfox on May 13, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Preliminary: I am a Sikh, I was born in America.
What you guys don’t understand is that this attack is an amalgam of various groups working AGAINST Hindus. Yes, there are Sikh militants, but to say they’re driven by religion is wrong… and if your know anything about Sikhism you’ll know why. The Sikh militant struggle is more of an ethnic identitiy struggle similar to the Slavic region, being that most if not all Sikh militants are from the province on Punjab.
It’s likely that Sikh Militants, AQ or AQ associates (ie HuJI or JeM, and possibly the ISI (Pak. Intelligence Service) worked together to conduct these attacks. Furthermore I defintly know that Sikh militants were involved being that our family got a report out of India that “purpotedly” a family friend/relative’s son (I really don’t know which, the lines are so ill-defined when you get down to it – in India) was arrested in Rajasthan for doing something terrorist-like (possibly bomb-making).
Furthermore, for Gaurav to suggest that the leaders of these Sikh Militants are nestled in Canada or the U.K. is completly ridiculous; I’d have more proof that unicorns exist then that these insolent militants are based in either of those countries.
PresidenToor on May 13, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Thanks for the info.
right2bright on May 13, 2008 at 7:12 PM
So it’s kind of a Sum of all Fears scenario.
- The Cat
P.S. As for Sikh Militants in Canada and U.K., from what I’ve read it’s kind of like the Sinn Fein in America raising cash.
MirCat on May 13, 2008 at 8:35 PM
Here we go again. I have no idea what you mean by caste system being institutionalized, or what it has got to do with international security and only a faint idea how you think is USA going to “address” it, but whatever floats your boat.
Anyway may be we should focus on the issue here.
So far the reports do not indicate any involvement of Sikh terrorist groups. Also there is no history of collusion of Sikh terrorists with AQ, that may change however. Anyhoo the point is Sikh terrorism is dead in Punjab thanks to KPS Gill (You guys might have read about him on winds of change, I guess), Sikhs have moved on, in fact there was never a mass support for terrorism among Sikhs in India, even at the worst of times it was the hardliners who instigated violence, and even now it is some nutcases (mainly) in Canada who are still dreaming about Khalistan (ironically it also means “land of pure”). Indians have always been proud of Sikhs for their sacrifice against cruelty of Mughals and Afghans and nothing is going to change it.
PS. I won’t say Sikh terrorism is ethnic, it is more of theocratic nonsense.
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 10:17 PM
I hope my previous comment did provide some context. I am no expert on Sikhism (or any religion for that matter), but I am sure there is no support for violence in Sikh philosophy. The basic problem that I see is of paranoia of hardliners regarding the purity of identity. To them the shared heritage between Sikhism and Hinduism sends alarm bells.
PS. Hindi is the language, Hinduism is the religion, Hindus are its adherents. (Sorry for being anal)
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Many thanks to Ed for the comprehensive info and the many others who provided updates and links via comments. My daughter is on a University study trip and I knew the group was spending a couple of days in Jaipur about this time so I was concerned. My attempts to call were futile, (think of call centers in Hyderbad) but fortunately my daughter called just now to say that the group had left just hours before the bombings and were safe in Jodhpur.
Bluecaper on May 13, 2008 at 11:06 PM
More then most Sikhs do not support any ‘militant’ activity, quite possibly because in the past the Sikh people themselves were the targets of the militants by the militants night time raids, random killings, and zealous subjugation of the Sikh people. That being said, most Sikhs cannot also forget the events of 1987. This sort of shared heritage and reconciliation you are postulating does not exist in most of the Sikh community, and what ever its past may be – is mired in bloodshed.
As you state, not being an expert on Sikhism, I, speaking from faith, can tell you that there is no theocratic basis for any terrorism committed by people who call themselves Sikh, it’s purely ethnic.
PresidenToor on May 13, 2008 at 11:15 PM
I think you are talking about 1984, it was horrible, but people both Hindus and Sikhs have got over it. Since you said you were born and living in USA and provided information only from one sided sources, probably you are not familiar the ground reality here in India. There is no ill will among Sikhs and Hindus, both want to get over the nightmare,in more than four hundred years of peaceful co-existence it was an aberration.
Also it is not a ethnic struggle as Punjabi whether Sikh or Hindu are of the same ethnicity.And anyway in my later comment I clarified that it was due to paranoia regarding purity of identity not philosophy.
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 11:32 PM
I think that to someone who is coming from Abrahimic traditions Hinduism may appear to be polytheistic due to its practice of worshipping multiple deities, but actually it is ,well, complicated.
Gaurav on May 13, 2008 at 11:54 PM
And the fact that islamic terrorism has been going on for many, many decades is because India is in Iraq? I learn something every day.
Johan Klaus on May 14, 2008 at 12:53 AM
OK, it appears I shot without aiming …
I suppose I can attemp to save face by claiming that I meant generally, not India specifically, but that would be a sham.
So, call me Mr. Foot-in-Mouth!
TexasDude on May 14, 2008 at 1:43 AM
That’s all right dude, happens with best of us. And I am sorry if I was touchy, I hope it is understandable given the circumstances.
Gaurav on May 14, 2008 at 1:52 AM
Thank you for at least mentioning this story.
Fox News and Drudge aren’t bothering, since youtube videos and superdelegates are more important news than worldwide Islamic jihad.
ashleymatt on May 14, 2008 at 12:52 PM