NEW DELHI, July 11: The deadly blasts in Mumbai followed a spate of grenade attacks by suspected militants in Srinagar on Tuesday in which at least six people, described as Indian tourists, were killed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned both the incidents, saying his government had been sworn in to “defeat forces of terrorism”.
Earlier, Indian Home Secretary V. K. Duggal said the Srinagar attacks were aimed at derailing the peace process with Pakistan but, he added, that was not likely to happen.
Mr Singh said in a statement: “The series of blasts in Jammu and Kashmir and in Mumbai are shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror among our citizens.”
Reiterating India’s commitment to fighting “terror in all its forms”, the prime minister said: “The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been facing attacks of terrorists with courage and fortitude in the past. I am sure they will continue to fight terror resolutely.
“The citizens of Mumbai have faced a similar trauma more than a decade ago. I am confident that the people of this great city have the will and courage to face this situation and will stand firm in their resolve to carry on their normal activities without succumbing to threats of terror. We will work to defeat the evil designs of terrorists and will not allow them to succeed.”
Intelligence officials said a preliminary analysis of Tuesday’s attacks in Srinagar and Mumbai pointed to Al Qaeda-related groups.
While the Mumbai attack was being seen as bearing resemblance to the Madrid and London train blasts, recent attacks in Srinagar had targeted tourists not dissimilar to the ones in Indonesia. Some TV channels quoted Indian officials as blaming Lashkar-i-Taiba for both the attacks.
Mr Duggal, speaking of the Srinagar attacks, said training of militants, supply of equipment and their support structure was “not possible without strong backing”.
“We are constantly in touch with the Jammu and Kashmir police.
They have leads. They will get these people very soon.”
He, however, said there was no re-think on the ongoing peace process with Pakistan.
