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Warning Signs Seen Ahead of India Bombings Warning Signs Seen Ahead of India Bombings
(about 5 hours later)
NEW DELHI — The death toll from Thursday’s explosions in Hyderabad, India, rose on Friday to 16 people, as new information about India’s deadliest bombing since 2011 suggested the attacks had been long planned, raising questions about whether they could have been prevented.NEW DELHI — The death toll from Thursday’s explosions in Hyderabad, India, rose on Friday to 16 people, as new information about India’s deadliest bombing since 2011 suggested the attacks had been long planned, raising questions about whether they could have been prevented.
Two days before the blasts, national intelligence sources warned that there might be terrorist activity in Hyderabad and other Indian cities including Bangalore and Coimbatore, the Home Ministry reported on Friday. Two days before the blasts, national intelligence sources warned that there might be terrorist activity in Hyderabad and other Indian cities including Bangalore and Coimbatore, the Home Ministry reported on Friday. Four days before, wires were cut to security cameras in the area, NDTV reported, citing police officials. The cameras not been repaired, even though the traffic police knew they were not working.
The blasts went off within about 150 yards of each other near a crowded bus stop in the neighborhood of Dilsukh Nagar, an area packed with shops, restaurants, theaters and a huge produce market. Residents of the city are set to demonstrate on Sunday. They plan to block roads, including the main highway to Bangalore.
The blasts went off within about 150 yards of each other near a crowded bus stop in the neighborhood of Dilsukh Nagar, an area packed with shops, restaurants, theaters and a huge produce market. A senior police officer said that iron nails were found at both sites.
An Oct. 26 Delhi Police news release about the arrest of four people in connection with explosions in Pune two months earlier mentioned the Dilsukh Nagar neighborhood as a potential target. It said one of the militants arrested in the 2012 blasts, Imran Khan, had done reconnaissance of the Hyderabad neighborhood “on a motorcycle” with an accomplice.An Oct. 26 Delhi Police news release about the arrest of four people in connection with explosions in Pune two months earlier mentioned the Dilsukh Nagar neighborhood as a potential target. It said one of the militants arrested in the 2012 blasts, Imran Khan, had done reconnaissance of the Hyderabad neighborhood “on a motorcycle” with an accomplice.
The news release tied the 2012 attack to Riyaz Bhatkal, the accused leader of an Islamic radical group called the Indian Mujahedeen. Officials said they were investigating whether Thursday’s bombings may be connected to India’s recent execution of an Islamic militant in Kashmir. The news release tied the 2012 attack to Riyaz Bhatkal, the accused leader of an Islamic radical group called the Indian Mujahedeen.
Hyderabad itself has a fairly vibrant Muslim community. The city was also the target of twin synchronized bombings in 2007 that took the lives of 42 people at popular gathering spots. In the hours after that blast, the police found and defused 19 more bombs, left at bus stops, theaters, pedestrian bridges and intersections. Officials were investigating whether the attack was connected to the Feb. 9 execution of a Kashmiri militant accused of a deadly 2001 assault on India’s Parliament. The execution, conducted in secret, set off unrest in Kashmir and led the government to impose a curfew in the Kashmir Valley.
Investigators later tied the 2007 attacks to a terrorist group based in Bangladesh. Hyderabad, with a population of more than six million, has a fairly vibrant Muslim community and has been the site of attacks before.
While officials had some indications before Thursday’s bombings that an attack was looming, intelligence experts cautioned that it is not always easy to prevent such violence. The city was the target of twin synchronized bombings in 2007 that took the lives of 42 people at popular gathering spots. In the hours after that blast, the police found and defused 19 more bombs, left at bus stops, theaters, pedestrian bridges and intersections. Investigators eventually tied the attack to a terrorist group based in Bangladesh.
“These alerts are so routine that you cannot act upon these,” J. N. Rai, a former official with India’s Intelligence Bureau, said in a telephone interview. “With the use of technology and online communication, it has become rather more difficult” to detect and prevent planned attacks, he added. Some intelligence experts faulted the government for failing to prevent the latest attack.
Four days before the blasts, wires had been cut to security cameras in the area, NDTV reported, citing police officials. They had not been repaired, even though the traffic police knew they were not working. If you do not have any information, it is an intelligence failure,” said Ajit Doval, a former director of India’s Intelligence Bureau. “But if you have some information, and even then you cannot prevent the event, then it is the failure of the government.”
A senior police inspector told reporters that iron nails were found at both bombing sites. He also said that it was possible that ammonium nitrate was mixed with other explosives to create the bombs. But others said it was not so simple.
The attack comes as India has been on heightened alert after the Feb. 9 execution of a Kashmiri militant accused of a deadly 2001 assault on India’s Parliament. The execution, conducted in secret, set off unrest in Kashmir and led the government to impose a curfew in the Kashmir Valley. “These alerts are so routine that you cannot act upon these,” J. N. Rai, a former official with India’s Intelligence Bureau, said in a telephone interview.
S. A. Huda, director general of the local state police, said investigators were looking into whether the bombing was tied to the execution in Kashmir. “That’s one of the possibilities,” he said.

Heather Timmons reported from New Delhi, and Gerry Mullany reported from Hong Kong. Malavika Vyawahare, Sruthi Gottipati and Hari Kumar contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Raksha Kumar from Hyderabad.

He said no arrests have yet been made. “It’s painstaking work” to investigate, he said. “We don’t want to jump the gun.”
The latest bombings drew widespread condemnation in India.
“This is a dastardly attack; the guilty will not go unpunished,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
Hyderabad, with a population of more than six million, is one of India’s most prosperous and fastest-growing cities, home to many software and biotechnology companies.
In the wake of Thursday’s attacks, residents of the city planned demonstrations for Sunday in which they planned to block roads, including the main highway to Bangalore.
Some intelligence officials faulted the government as not picking up on signs that an attack was in the works.
“If you do not have any information, it is an intelligence failure,” said Ajit Doval, a former director of India’s Intelligence Bureau. “But if you have some information, and even then you cannot prevent the event, then it is the failure of the government.”

Heather Timmons reported from New Delhi, and Gerry Mullany reported from Hong Kong. Malavika Vyawahare, Sruthi Gottipati and Hari Kumar contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Raksha Kumar contributed from Hyderabad.