Issue 8, Winter 2011 G P N S T O R Y
G P N T I M E L I N E
At least 21 people were killed and 140 injured in a series of three explosions during the rush hour in Mumbai on July 13, 2011.
The attacks bore the Al Qaeda marks of simultaneous multiple attacks and
included a crowded food market, a jewelry outlet in a well known market
which also attracts many tourists, and an area near the opera house.
An earlier major attack in Nov 2008 where 160 people were killed in Mumbai saw large scale attacks on hotels, a railroad station, and a Jewish community center.
Indian security officials believe that the terror attacks are the work of the Indian "mujahideen." Some security officials believe that the attack is the revenge for the humiliation that Pakistan and its security forces suffered with the execution of Bin Laden who lived,
quite apparently under the protection of Pakistan security officials. It is also believed that the attack is an effort to defeat peace talks in development between India and Pakistan.
The Indian mujadeen has sworn war against Western influences on India and seeks to mobilize the Muslim community in India to live according to Islamic religious law. The organization was responsible for a terror attack in 2006 which involved several blasts on train stations in Mumbai and caused the deaths of at least 180 people. The earlier attack had been carried out by another terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, Indian security officials believe that the terror attacks are sponsored and approved by Pakistan if not its actual direct doing.
Selected Timeline of Selected Past Events: India is No Stranger to Terror
March 12, 1993
15 co-ordinated bomb attacks in Bombay. 257 killed and more than 1,000 injured. The attacks were seen as retaliation for earlier anti-Muslim riots that left hundreds dead
February 14, 1998
13 car bombs in the city of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 46 people were killed and more than 200 injured by the "Al Umma" Islamist group.
October 1, 2001
The Muslim extremist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed attack Jammu & Kashmir Assembly complex in Srinagar, killing about 35.
December 13, 2001
Attack on Indian Parliament complex in New Delhi by Pakistan-based terror group. A dozen people were killed and 18 injured.
May 14, 2002
Attack on an Army camp near Jammu, kills more than 30 people.
March 13, 2003
Bombing of a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11.
August 15, 2004
Explosion in the northeastern state of Assam kills 16, mostly school children.
August 25, 2003
Twin car bombs explode near the Taj Mahal
hotel, and a jewellery market near the Mumba Devi temple in
central Mumbai. At least 45 people killed and 150 injured. No
group claimed responsibility, but authorities blamed the Kashmiri
Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba seen as responsible.
October 29, 2005
61 killed and at least 210 injured when three bombs explode in markets in New Delhi two days before the Hindu festival of Diwali. A little-known Kashmiri militant organisation, Islami Inqilabi Mahaz (Islamic Revolutionary Group) claimed responsibility, but authorities blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba
March 7, 2006
A series of bombings in the holy city of Varanasi killed at least 28 and injured 101. Pakistan-based terror group is named responsible.
July 11, 2006
Seven bombs exploded in crowded commuter trains during the evening rush hour near Mumbai. At least 200 killed and 700 injuried. Police blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
September 8, 2006
At least 37 people killed and 126 injured in a series of bomb blasts near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra. Most of the people killed were Muslim pilgrims. Students Islamic Movement of India held responsible.
May 18, 2007
Bombing during Friday prayers at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad, kills 13 people, and four more are killed by police in rioting that followed.
May 26, 2007
Six people killed and 30 injured in a bomb blast in India's northeastern city of Guwahati.
August 25, 2007
Two bombs exploded in Hyderabad's Lumbini park and a restaurant and kill at least 42 people.
May 13, 2008
6 explosions tear through Jaipur, a popular tourist destination in the Rajasthan state in Western India. 63 people killed and more than 150 injured.
July 25, 2008
Seven blasts in quick succession across the south Indian tech city of Bangalore kill one person and injure more than 150.
July 26, 2008
A string of bomb attacks in Ahmedabad sees 17 bombs explode within an hour in residential areas, market places, hospitals and on public transport. At least 45 people killed.
Sept. 13, 2008
Five bomb blasts by Indian Mujahideen in New Delhi's popular shopping centers leave 21 people dead and more than 100 injured.
October 30, 2008
A string of bomb explosions in north-eastern state of Assam. At least 40 killed and more than 150 others injured, mostly in the main city of Guwahati.
July 13, 2011
Three bomb blasts in Mumbai; at least 20 people are killed and more than 100 injured.
Sources:
Wall Street Journal (July 13, 2011). Timeline of attacks in India. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122772515602360289.html
Guardian.co.uk (November 26, 2008). Timeline:
Attacks in India.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/26/india-attacks-timeline
Bajaj, Vikas, and Goodman, J. David (July 14, 2011). Mumbai rocked by bombings at rush hour. International Herald Tribune.
Pfeffer, Anshel (July 14,
2011). 21 dead in a series of attacks in Mumbai: India accuses an
Islamic movement that operates at the initiative of Pakistan. Haaretz (Hebrew).
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