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Deadly restaurant blast in India Deadly restaurant blast in India
(about 5 hours later)
At least eight people have been killed and 33 others wounded in a bomb attack on a restaurant in India's western city of Pune, officials say. At least eight people have been killed and 42 others wounded in a bomb attack on a restaurant in India's western city of Pune, officials say.
The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.
The blast, which Maharashtra state officials say was caused by a bomb, is the first major attack India has seen since the Mumbai bombings in 2008. The bombing is the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
The nationalities of the dead are not known. The nationalities of the dead are not yet known but at least one of those killed is reported to be foreign.
But at least one of the dead is reported to be a foreign national. All the evidence points to a deliberate plot P Chidambaram,Home minister class="" href="/2/hi/in_pictures/8514662.stm">In pictures: India restaurant blast class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8513092.stm">
The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters news agency. "It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters.
AT THE SCENE Prachi Pinglay BBC News, Pune The German Bakery, on the ground floor of a corner building in a plush area of Pune, has been reduced to rubble.
The rest of the building is still intact and anti-terrorist squads from Mumbai have gone in to try to determine the type of explosive used in the blast.
The street has been cordoned off and the area is very quiet now.
Whenever I have visited this bakery in the past - last time was a few months ago - it has always been very crowded.
It was a very quaint, old place, the limited seating areas full of students and foreign visitors from the nearby Osho Ashram eating Western food.
A security alert was issued for Chabad House, a Jewish centre for learning in the vicinity of the German Bakery, in October 2009, India's Home Office said.
But the German Bakery was not deemed to be at risk at the time.
Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.
ANALYSIS Soutik Biswas BBC News, Delhi The German Bakery, the site of the blast, is a landmark eatery of Pune, one of the fastest growing Indian cities, and a prominent infotech and higher education hub. Nearby shops were badly damaged and reported to have been splattered with blood.
Located close to the once-thriving Osho Ashram - an internationally-known and controversial meditation centre begun by an Indian guru - in the city's upscale Koregaon area, the place is usually teeming with foreigners. "I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place", local resident Abba More told AP.
Many among them live, work or are visitors to the centre, while others are students. (Pune has a large population of foreign students.) Initial reports had suggested the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The German Bakery is a favourite hangout for foreigners and locals alike. So setting off an explosion there serves the twin purpose of killing foreigners and locals - and attracting international attention.
If this turns out to be a terror attack - as it now looks like - it would mean the perpetrators, as has been suspected for some time now, are looking at places where foreigners frequent in large numbers.
There were a rash of intelligence reports in the run up to and after the Mumbai attacks that the popular beach resort of Goa could be targeted, so the choice of Pune, which is essentially a soft target, comes as no surprise.
"There has been a bomb blast," senior police official Rajendra Sonawane said.
"There was an abandoned bag which seems to have contained some IED [improvised explosive device]."
Initial reports suggested a gas cylinder had exploded.
The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.
 The Chabad centre, run by the Jewish Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, is also in the vicinity.
Were you in the area at the time of the blast? Were you or anyone you know affected? Please send us your accounts and comments using the form at the bottom. Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and in October 2009 the home ministry issued a security alert for the Chabad centre in Pune.
You can send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk, text them to +44 7725 100 100 or you have a large file you can class="inlineText" href="http://bbcnewsupload.streamuk.com/" >upload here. No-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2780295.stm#yourpics" >Read the terms and conditions However Home Minister P Chidambaram described it as "a significant terrorist incident".
At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. "All the evidence points to a deliberate plot," he told AFP.
A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. The bomb blast comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25.
name="say"> The talks will be their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms/">Terms & Conditions No conclusions could be drawn yet as to who was responsible for the blast, Mr Pillai said.
"Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]", he told AP.
The home ministry has issued an advisory to all state governments to be on high alert.