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India: Pakistan must act on blasts
MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- India has raised pressure on Pakistan to hand over terrorism suspects after Monday's twin blasts in Mumbai, which left at least 52 people dead. Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani toured the blast sites Tuesday and said the bombings had the hallmarks of two Islamic militant groups that have been waging war against the Indian state. Though Advani said it was too early to say who was responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in Mumbai in a decade, he hit out at Pakistan's condemnation of the bombings. Advani said Islamabad's comments were a "mere formality" unless Pakistan handed over 19 people wanted by New Delhi for previous terrorist attacks including a string of bombings in Mumbai in 1993. Pakistan denies giving shelter to any of the men named in a list of suspects by India after the attack on parliament in New Delhi in December 2001. Advani said Monday's attacks -- near the Gateway of India monument and in a busy market district near the city's main Hindu temple -- were similar to previous bombings in Mumbai blamed on banned groups Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the Kashmiri separatist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. "Earlier, these blasts were in buses, and in almost all cases the organization involved has been SIMI, action along with Lashkar-e-Taiba," Advani said. India shut down the SIMI group shortly after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, accusing it of being linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network. Lashkar-e-Taiba, or the Army of the Pure, has been accused by India of carrying out terror attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India blames Pakistan of backing the group. Pakistan, which denies the charges, was quick to condemn the bombings as "acts of terrorism." (Full story) Other world leaders have also voiced their outrage at the blasts, which also injured more than 150 people.(Full story) InvestigationAs the investigation into the twin attacks continued, security has been tightened in Mumbai and across much of India -- especially around temples, mosques and public areas. Police officials are apprehensive of a new wave of secular violence between Hindus and Muslims in the wake of Monday's attacks. Animosity between majority Hindus and minority Muslims have been on the rise for several years in India and there are fears heightened religious tensions might spiral into more bloodshed. Terrorist attacks in the past have led to tit-for-tat sectarian violence, with many Muslims in Mumbai worried they will be blamed by Hindus for these blasts. The investigation into the blasts is focusing on two taxicabs which police say contained the explosive devices. Police said they had received several leads from the driver of one of the taxis who, they said, was apparently working in league with his passenger, who was carrying a bomb. Security forces in the city have been on high alert because of a series of bomb explosions across the Mumbai metropolitan area over the past several months. The most recent bus bombing took place on July 29, killing four people on board a packed commuter bus in the commercial heart of the city. Monday's blasts were the worst in Mumbai since 1993, when a series of bombs killed at least 260. The 1993 blasts were blamed on underworld gangs seeking to avenge Muslim deaths during Hindu-Muslim riots following the destruction of a mosque in the holy city of Ayodhya in northern India by a Hindu mob. (History of violence) Mumbai, a city of more than 13 million people is home to India's financial and film industries. Until recent years, it was known as Bombay. -- CNN Correspondents Suhasini Haider and Ram Ramgopol contributed to this report.
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