The synchronised "low-intensity" explosions rocked 14 crowded areas including market places in the Gujarat capital in a space of 70 minutes between 1830 hrs IST and 1940 hrs IST after the first blast hit Maninagar at 6.45 pm.

As per the police reports, 35 injured persons were rushed to Vadilal Sarabhai hospital while 25 injured were receiving treatment in LG hospital. Some injured were also in the Civil hospital.

Indian Mujahideen

As in the case of Jaipur blasts, in this case too, an email from the self-styled Indian Mujahideen has reportedly claimed responsibility for the serial blasts.

The email, claiming responsibility for the attacks to various television channels and media houses came minutes before the blasts, and was sent from a new email address -- alarbi_gujarat@yahoo.com -- which was created this afternoon, as per sources in the security establishment.

The email, sent in the name of Indian Mujahideen, which is believed to be a shadow amalgam group of banned SIMI cadres and Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba, has also warned of more attacks.

Blast After Blast

But back to the horrific incidents. The first blast was reported from Maninagar, the constituency of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. According to initial reports the bomb was planted on a bicycle. Maninagar saw as many as three blasts in all. The second blast was inside the LG Hospital premises below a red-coloured car, which caught fire. And the third was in Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital.

Sarkhej witnessed two blasts. The first one in a state transport CNG bus and the second targetting a movie hall, Sangam theatre.

Bapunagar also witnessed two blasts: one outside the railway station and the other one inside a bus.

In addition to these two, the blast that followed were at Isanpur, Narol circle, Bapunagar, Hatkeshwar, Sarangpur bridge, Odhav, Sardar Patel market, Civil hospital, Juhapura, Ambur tower building, Raipur and Gowribhadi.

Targeting Hospitals

Two explosions occurred in the premises of the Civil and the LG hospital in the second cycle of the blasts, after a short pause when 14 bombs went off in the space of 60 minutes in a sychronised attack.

A doctor at Ahmedabad Civil hospital said one blast occurred near the trauma centre, exacerbating the already tense situation. "This blast alone killed nearly 15 people and injured around 40," he said. 

Some reports said four city hospitals were targetted.

Terror Tactics

While the blasts were of low-intensity -- same as in Bangalore the day before -- busy, crowded markets and some of the communally sensitive areas -- primarily in eastern part of Ahmedabad, which are upper middle class dominated residential areas -- seem to have been chosen. Clearly, the intent was to create maximum panic and not just to cause heavy casualties.

The bombs placed in tiffin boxes were strapped on to bicycles, eerily similar to the Jaipur blasts on May 13 in which 65 persons had died. Some of the blast sites were in sensitive areas in the old city but the situation was peaceful as the night wore on.

Mangled remains of a bus, cycles, motorcycles and an autorickshaw were seen at the blast sites which was splattered with blood and panic spread as people ran for their lives. Police said at least 20 persons were killed as confirmations of deaths poured in from Vadilal Sarabhai, Civil and LG hospitals.

Going by the experience of Bangalore, the authorities are not taking any chances, as live bombs were found in Bangalore even a full day after the eight serial blasts.

Reactions

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil condemned the serial blasts and appealed for calm. While Chief Minister Narendra Modi too condemned the blasts and appealed for calm, his party leader and MP from Gandhinagar L K Advani quickly moved in to politicise the blasts, blaming the centre and the lack of tough anti-terror laws for the rise in terror activities. He did not, however, draw any conclusions about two BJP-ruled states -- Gujarat and Karnataka -- being specifically targeted.

A shocked Modi said the Ahmedabad blasts was a "war against India" and a handiwork of terror groups. Declaring there should be one voice against terrorism, Modi also said there is a "mastermind group and a mastermind country" behind the blasts. The people behind the attack will be "hounded out," said Modi, who also spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A common feature seen at the blast sites was use of blue ballbearings in the explosions.

Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said in New Delhi that National Security Guards (NSG) personnel were being rushed to Ahmedabad where Rapid Action Force(RAF) personnel were already deployed to restore calm in the blast-hit areas some of which are highly sensitive.

Union home minister Shivraj Patil has convened a high level meeting on July 27 to review the security situation throughout the country.

with inputs from PTI