Blast in Hyderabad kills 13, injures 50

HYDERABAD: A suspected terror attack at the historic Mecca mosque here on Friday claimed 13 lives and injured 50 after a powerful remote-controlled bomb ripped through a gathering of thousands offering Friday prayers.

Nine persons were believed to have been killed due to the blast, while there was confusion whether the other three succumbed to injuries or in subsequent police firing on people protesting in the aftermath of the explosion.

Three live bombs were detected at the mosque in the communally sensitive Charminar area and defused -- two immediately after the blast at 1.30 pm in an area where ablutions are performed and the third later in the evening near the gate.

Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy confirmed five deaths in the blast but police and official sources put the toll at 12.

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said in Delhi that the blast appeared to have a terror link while Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy said it was an act of "intentional sabotage" by anti-social elements opposed to communal amity.

No group claimed responsibility for the blast which state police chief S A Basith said was remotely triggered with a mobile phone.

The bomb exploded when thousands of people were gathered in the mosque for Friday prayers, DCP, South Zone, Kanta Rao, said.

The injured, some of them bleeding profusely, were rushed to Osmania and other hospitals by the worshippers in whatever modes of transport they could arrange. Police said the death toll could rise. "Four of them are in a serious condition," Dr Sreenivas of the hospital said.

The explosion created such a panic that those gathered for the prayers started running towards the exit gate of the mosque, said to be over 300 years old and considered sacred by Muslims in and outside the state.

A large posse of police personnel, who arrived on the scene, faced an angry crowd, who pelted stones at them and the shops in the vicinity. Police resorted to lathicharge to
disperse the crowd.

State Home Minister K Jana Reddy was also stopped from entering the mosque by a crowd that shut its huge green wooden doors on his face. Only after some persuasion by him and officials was he allowed to make an on-the-spot inspection.

Chief Minister, Rajashekhar Reddy, who rushed back to Hyderabad from Delhi, said five people have died and 7-8 others were injured in the explosion.

He said only one bomb exploded while two other live bombs were defused on the spot. The situation, he said, was under control.

Howeever, there were reports of some people pelted stones at shops and vehicles after the explosion. Police used water cannon to disperse angry crowds, witnesses said.

Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed to maintain law and order in the communally-sensitive area, where shops and other establishments immediately downed their shutters.

Forensic experts have rushed to the spot to assess the nature of the blast.

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta spoke to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary.

Reddy talked to the DGP Basith and other senior state government officials and took stock of the situation.

Home Minister Jana Reddy said that police reinforcements are being sent to the area and the situation would be brought under control.

A high alert was sounded across Andhra Pradesh as well as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

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