Carriers Of Doom

September 8, 2006 Two bombs explode in a cemetery adjacent to a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra. 38 die. The bombs, a mix of RDX, ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, are strapped to cycles.

May 22, 2007 Three crude bombs kept in tiffin boxes and attached to cycles go off at five minute intervals in a crowded shopping area of Gorakhpur, UP. Five injured.

June 13, 2007 A bomb, suspected to be an IED and kept in a gunny bag on a bike goes off in a weekly wholesale mart in Hajo in the Kamrup district of Assam. One dies, 40 injured.

November 23, 2007 Tagged to cycle handles, five simultaneous blasts occur in the civil courts of Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad. 13 killed.

February 27, 2008 A bomb kept on a cycle parked about 50 mts from Tezpur�s Sadar police station kills 1, injures 14.

April 10, 2008 Bicycle bomb explodes in a market in Karbi Anglong�s Howraghat town in Assam, injuring 29.

May 13, 2008 Bags with explosives and tied to cycles are left in various locations of Jaipur�s walled city. 63 people killed.

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• Bombs Planted 10.
• Only 9 exploded.
• Locations 7
• Tripolia Bazaar, Manak Chowk, Johari Bazaar, Badi Chaupad, Chhoti Chaupad, Sanganeri Gate and Chandpole
• Death Toll: 63
• Injured: 118

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• Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI): This Bangladesh-based outfit emerged the first suspect in the blasts.
• Indian Mujahideen (IM): A hitherto unknown entity, IM owned responsibility for the attacks, e-mailing video clips of a cycle strapped with bombs. What�s now vexing intelligence forces is: is IM a new group or a front?
• Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Harkat-ul-Mujahideen: The role of these Pakistan-based groups is never discounted.

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• The city was a soft target. It has never figured in the list of places on a terror alert. Security agencies therefore never expected a strike.
• A major tourist destination, targeting it guarantees international attention.
• Its proximity to Delhi sends a direct message to the national capital.
• A strike here demonstrates the terrorists� ability to strike anywhere in India.

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• The blasts could heighten communal tension.
• The BJP is already exacting political mileage out of them.
• The Rs 1,000-crore tourism industry is likely to be hit.
• Hotels are reporting cancellation of bookings.
• The Australian and US embassies have advised their nationals to be cautious.
• The targeted areas are a wholesale hub in tie and dye, gems and jewellery. Export losses will be Rs 100 crore.