Terror Strikes Mumbai - Again - UPDATED

Today in Mumbai, India, at least three bombs have gone off, killing and injuring innocent people in the same city that suffered a brutal massacre at the hands of islamic jihadis in 2008. It has been confirmed by authorities in India that this is, indeed, a terrorist attack.





Video via Times of India

Express Buzz ponders if today's bombings are a birthday gift for the only surviving jihadi who perpetrated the 2008 massarce in Mumbai:

MUMBAI: Were today's synchronised blasts here a birthday gift for 26/11 terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab?Born on July 13, 1987 in Pakistan, Kasab was one of the ten terrorists who carried out the three-day long attacks on the metropolis which began on the evening of November 26, 2008 and left 166 people dead.Three blasts rocked the busy markets of Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House today, which also happens to be Kasab's 24th Birthday.Dressed in a cargo and black T-shirt, Kasab unleashed a rein of terror at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station and Cama Hospital by opening fire from his automatic assault rifle.The only attacker left alive after the carnage, Kasab has been languishing in Arthur Road prison here and was awarded death sentence by a trial court which was upheld by the Bombay High Court.

This is the second terrorist attack in India within just one week, as reported by International Business Times:

On Sunday, a train bomb in the northern city of Assam injured 100 people. The explosive was planted on the tracks of the local commuter rail, derailing a train. MORE HERE

At least 100 people have been injured in today's blasts and all Indian states have been put on high alert. Via Mumbai Mirror:

The Union Home Ministry has reportedly confirmed that the blasts are terror strikes
According to television reports, over 100 people have been injured in the three blasts took place at the Kabutarkhana in Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar in Charna Road and Prasad Chambers in Opera House area.
" It is a bomb blast. We are trying to probe the intensity of the blast. There are only three blasts. The injured have been rushed to the hospital," said Chhagan Bhujbal, Maharashtra state''s public works minister.
According to television reports, the explosives could have been planted in the vehicles.
The MHA has also confirmed that IEDs were sued in the three blasts.
The first blast took place in South Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaaar, the second took place in a car in Dadar area and the third blast is being reported from Opera House in Charni Road.
Maharashtra ATS personnel have reached the spots and are monitoring the situation. The state police personnel are also leaving no stones unturned to find out the intensity of the blast.
The fire brigade personnel have also reached the spot and are assisting the forces.
Meanwhile, all the states have been put on high alert following the blasts in MumbaiThe Ministry of Home Affairs (NHA) has reportedly put the National Security Guard (NSG) in Mumbai on high alert following the three blasts that took place here this evening.
The Union Home Ministry has reportedly confirmed that the blasts are terror strikes MORE HERE

Fox News is reporting that at least 13 people have been killed by today's terrorist attack.

India has been targeted by terrorists often, the Times of India has a chronology of bombings in India going back to 2005, HERE.


Please pray for the good people of India, as they struggle to cope with yet another senseless act of terrorism.


Updates:

Pamela Geller has updated her post at Atlas Shrugs and has more background information, HERE.

Image via Atlas Shrugs

The Hindu reports that 20 are now dead from this act of terrorism. Image below from The Hindu:

The scene after a blast near Opera House, Mumbai on Wednesday. Photo: Vivek Bendre

Three blasts between 6.54 p.m. and 7.05 p.m. rocked the crowded areas of Mumbai on Wednesday, killing 20 persons and injuring over a hundred, according to official sources. The most powerful one, suspected to have been set off by an IED (improvised explosive device) was at Zaveri Bazaar in south Mumbai, a congested part of the city, the second at Kabutarkhana near Dadar suburban railway station in central Mumbai and the third at Opera House also in South Mumbai.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan confirmed that it was a terror strike and appealed to Mumbaikars to keep calm. Mr. Chavan said the first blast was at 6.54 p.m. at Zaveri Bazaar, followed by Dadar at 6.55 p.m. and Opera House at 7.05 p.m.

Mr. Chavan said the police would get to the bottom of this. He had spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and both had assured the State of all help.

The blast near the bus stop at Kabutarkhana went off between 6.45 p.m. and 6.55 p.m., according to eyewitness accounts, shattering a car that was passing by and injuring the driver. A damaged bus stop and broken glass of the nearby shops bore testimony to the intensity of the bomb which was placed near the Hanuman Mandir, according to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umeshkumar Sarangi.

Mr. Sarangi said the bomb at Zaveri Bazaar was placed in an umbrella while the one at Opera House was in a manhole. While the Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik confirmed that it was an IED that was used at Zaveri Bazaar, investigations are still on to confirm the kind of explosive used at the other two places.  MORE HERE

Indian Express has an update toll: at least 21 killed and 113 injured. Photo below from India Express:

A blast scene at Zaveri bazar in Mumbai. (PTI)

Indian Mujahedin (islamic terrorist group) are believed to be responsible for today's horror.

Bare Naked Islam is covering this story as well, BNI has been updating the post as the situation further develops, be sure to check there often for new information, pictures & video.


UPDATES II:

Mumbai hospitals are struggling to cope with the blast victims - The Times of India
Hospitals are having a hard time keeping up with the flood of seriously injured people, and admitting offices are being overwhelmed with people seeking news of their loved ones.

People queued up at hospitals to verify whether their friends or relatives were among the injured, while some were seen donating blood and helping hospital authorities.
...
"All the injured have suffered severe burns and their body parts have been crushed," Pravin Shingare, Co-Director of St George Hospital, said.

Social Networks like Twitter and Facebook are playing a big role in getting information and assistance out. Via Times of India:

First there was news. Then outrage. And then help. As TV channels flashed information about the bomb blasts, the news spread fast across the web. With confusion on the ground in Mumbai and phone networks choked, people used Twitter and Facebook to contact their friends and relatives in Mumbai.

Once the initial shock was over, tech savvy-users came together on Twitter and Facebook to offer help to blast victims. While initially the communication was little haphazard, soon people shaped it into a coherent flow of information that could help blast victims. Apart from #MumbaiBlasts, by 8PM #here2help and #needhelp were trending on Twitter.

Using #here2help tag hundreds of Twitter users in Mumbai stepped up to help stranded blast victims. While some offered shelter and food to stranded victims, a few others volunteered to drive stranded commuters to their homes. Some others volunteered to donate blood, if needed. READ THE REST

This post is linked at Atlas Shrugs. Thank you, Pamela!

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