Mumbai Train Bombings
The Mumbai Train Bombings refer to a tragic event that occurred on July 11, 2006, when seven bombs detonated on evening commuter trains in Mumbai, India, resulting in the deaths of 183 people and injuries to over 700 others. The attacks took place during the busy rush hour, targeting a transportation system that serves millions of passengers daily in India’s financial capital. Following the bombings, Indian authorities accused the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba of orchestrating the attacks, with allegations linking the planning to Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence. This incident heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly in the context of ongoing disputes over the Kashmir region, which has been a flashpoint for violence and military conflict between the two nations.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombings initially, but investigations led to several arrests and the identification of suspects who reportedly received training in Pakistan. The attacks cast a shadow of fear over Mumbai and raised concerns about the potential impact on peace negotiations between India and Pakistan. The Mumbai Train Bombings are part of a broader history of violence in the region, reflecting deep-seated sectarian conflicts and the complexities surrounding Indian and Pakistani relations.
Subject Terms
Mumbai Train Bombings
Keywords: Bombay; Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence; India; Kashmir; Lashkar-e-Toiba; Mumbai; Pakistan
Summary: Seven bombs exploded on evening commuter trains in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay), on July 11, 2006, killing 183 people. A senior police official from Mumbai on Sep. 30, 2006, accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of planning the attack which he asserted was carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba ("Army of the Pure"), which is dedicated to expelling India from the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan denied claims that was involved in the Mumbai bombing.
Date: July 11, 2006.
Place: Mumbai, India (formerly called Bombay).
Incident: Seven bombs exploded on evening rush-hour commuter trains, killing at least 183 people and wounding over 700.
Context: Mumbai is India's business and financial capital; its commuter railroad serves an estimated six million passengers a day. It has been the target of previous attacks blamed on criminal gangs.
Known or presumed perpetrators: Ten days after the attack one person was arrested in Kenya and three people appeared in an Indian court, accused of helping to organize the attacks. Police later said they had identified eight suspects in the bombing. On July 28 Indian police officials said some suspects had acknowledged going to Pakistan to receive training in explosives, and that one acknowledged contacts with the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba ("Army of the Pure"). That group denied responsibility.
On Sep. 30, 2006, a senior police official in Mumbai accused Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence in Islamabad, of planning the attack. Indian police accused the Lashkar-e-Toiba of carrying out the Mumbai attack. Pakistani officials immediately denied the accusations.
Impact: In the absence of claims of responsibility, the attacks cast a pall of fear over Mumbai, a metropolis of some 16 million people that serves as a major financial center and port for India's booming economy. Analysts speculated that involvement of Kashmiri separatists could interfere with the ongoing "peace process" between India and Pakistan. The two states have fought military engagements over their rival claims to the region. In early August, India and Pakistan each expelled one of the other's diplomats, suggesting growing mistrust brought about by the bombing.
The Incident
Eight explosions wracked seven trains within minutes of each other on the main line of Mumbai's busy commuter rail system during the evening rush hour on July 11, 2006.
Officials reported that 183 people died and 714 were injured.
The first bomb exploded at 6:30 P.M. on a train at the Bandra station on the city's Western Railway. Within the next 15 minutes seven more explosions hit trains in or near stations at Khar, Jogeshwari, Mahim, Miri Road, Matunga, and Borivili (two explosions), according to local news reports.
Many of the dead and injured suffered wounds to the head and upper body, leading police to speculate that bombs had been placed on overhead luggage racks.
Perpetrators/Suspects
No group stepped forward to claim responsibility. Ten days after the attack, Indian police accused three men of aiding in the attack, and a fourth suspected was arrested in Kenya. Indian police later said there were eight suspects in the bombing, and that six of those suspects had traveled to Pakistan, possibly to connect with the Kashmiri separatist group Lashkar-e-Toiba. On July 28 Indian police officials said at least one suspect had admitted receiving training from Lashkar-e-Toiba; that group issued a statement denying responsibility.
According to news reports, police focused on Lashkar-e-Toiba partly because the string of bombs suggested a sophisticated, well-planned operation. One retired army general and security consultant was quoted in news reports as saying the bombings comprised "a brilliant piece of precise, military organization, which required the involvement of six or seven different terrorist cells, able to coordinate attacks within minutes of each other." On these grounds he pointed to Lashkar-e-Toiba, which is believed to have links to al Qaeda.
On Sep. 30, 2006, Mumbai's chief of police, Anami Narayan Roy, told a televised news conference: "We have solved the July 11 bombings case. The whole attack was planned by Pakistan's I.S.I. [Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence] and carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba and their operatives in India."
Pakistan immediately denied the accusation.
History/Background
The Indian subcontinent has long been plagued by sectarian conflicts focused on differences between Muslims (the majority in Pakistan and a sizable minority in India) and Hindus. In recent years conflicting claims over the territory of Kashmir, separating India and Pakistan in the rugged Himalayas, have given rise to Islamic separatist groups demanding independence from India.
On Mar. 12, 1993, a series of 13 bomb attacks around Mumbai killed about 257 people and injured 1,400. Bombs exploded at the Bombay Stock Exchange, among other locations. Most of the explosions were caused by car bombs or bombs left in rooms in three hotels and a major shopping complex. A leader of Mumbai's criminal underworld was widely blamed for these attacks.
On Aug. 25, 2003, two large bombs exploded in taxis, killing 52 and wounding more than 100. India blamed two Islamic groups, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, for these explosions.
In 2001 Lashkar-e-Toiba was blamed for bomb attacks against the Indian Parliament, although the group denied responsibility.
Bibliography
Mazumdar, Sudip; Hussain, Zahid; Moreau, Ron "Terror on the Tracks," Newsweek, 7/24/2006, Vol. 148 Issue 4, p. 33.
Tripathi, Salil. "That old cliché spirit!" New Statesman, 7/24/2006, Vol. 135 Issue 4802, p. 20.
Usher, Graham. "Mumbai's Casualties," Nation, 8/14/2006, Vol. 283 Issue 5, p. 6.