World leaders expressed anger and revulsion on Thursday at triple bomb blasts that killed 17 people and left 131 injured in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai.
The coordinated explosions hit busy shopping and residential districts across the city, which is still emerging from the shadows of the 2008 militant attack that left 166 people dead.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the attacks “despicable” and vowed to visit India next week as planned, while Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi said the violence had shocked “civilised people everywhere”.
“I believe it is more important than ever that we stand with India, deepen our partnership, and reaffirm our commitment to the shared struggle against terrorism,” said Clinton, whose trip follows President Barack Obama’s state visit in November.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions which hit at rush hour on Wednesday.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani were among the first world leaders to condemn the blasts, voicing “distress on the loss of lives and injuries”.
The UN Security Council “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.
Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, who arrived at the scene within hours along with forensic experts and anti-terror commandos from New Delhi, told reporters the bombings were part of “a coordinated attack by terrorists”.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, led a chorus of condemnation from Asia Pacific nations which have also suffered from terrorism, including Australia and Sri Lanka, which ended 37 years of ethnic conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.
“Indonesia… expresses its full sympathy and condolences to the government and people of India for the loss of lives and the injuries caused as a result of that heinous and cowardly act,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
Australia, which lost 88 citizens in the 2002 Bali bombings, said such “wanton acts of terrorism” had no place in the civilised world.
China pledged to work with its southern neighbour to combat terrorism, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei saying the country was “shocked by the heavy casualties and losses caused by the blasts”.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton denounced the bombings as “heinous” while Britain and France reaffirmed their support for India in the fight against terrorism.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered “our deep and profound sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured by these heinous acts of violence, including Canadians who may have loved ones in Mumbai.”
Israel said it stood “side-by-side” with India, offering support to the government and praising the spirit of Mumbai’s “courageous” citizens.
