After a gap of 31 months, Mumbai has suffered yet another terror attack as three bomb blasts hit Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar within minutes of each other, leaving 18 dead and 131 injured, 23 of them seriously, as of July 14.

The government has ordered a massive investigation into the bomb blasts as no terror organisation has yet claimed any responsibility. The Home Minister, P. Chidambaram categorically stated that ‘it was a coordinated terror attack’ and that ‘all terror groups are suspect and all angles will be investigated’.

As per the preliminary investigations, the blasts at Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House were of medium to high intensity, while the Dadar blast was a low-intensity one. Terrorists had used ammonium nitrate with a timer-device. The bomb at Opera House was hidden under garbage while at Dadar it was placed over a bus shelter. At Zaveri Bazaar, it was concealed under an umbrella near a motorcycle.

The Home Minister has stated that it was ‘unfortunate’ that there was no intelligence input, but remarked that the ‘threat situation in Mumbai after 26/11 had been reasonably secure and that the Maharashtra Police, in particular Mumbai Police, had ‘neutralised’ many terrorist plans “which I am not in a position to disclose,” he said.

Chidambaram reiterated that Pakistan and Afghanistan continued to be the epicentres of terrorism and that cross-border terrorism was a contentious issue. Recently, two suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) members Mohammed Mobin Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan (32) and his cousin Ayub Raja Amin Shaikh (28) were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on July 6 in Mumbai.

Security alerts were issued in all major cities including New Delhi and Kolkata after the blasts in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory team has started investigation, while the National Security Guards (NSG) has kept its Mumbai outfit in all readiness.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has condemned the bomb blasts and said that all possible expert assistance would be provided to the State Government.