14 dead, 28 injured following Friday blast at Mecca Masjid Hyderabad

May 19: May 19: As many as 9 people were killed and 28 injured in the bomb that exploded during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca mosque in Hyderabad. Another 4 were killed in a police firing while controlling the angry crowd of protestors near the mosque, after the blast.

Police reported that more than 50 people were injured in the blast at Mecca Masjid, the main mosque in Hyderabad.

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Police also recovered two unexploded bombs from the site and defused them immediately. Keeping in mind the communal tension that may get sparked by the unfortunate incident, the city along with other major cities in the state and are now on a high alert.

This is the third time that a bomb blast in a mosque has been observed since last year. A similar bomb blast in September last year killed 32 in a mosque in Maharastra. Police at that time accused a banned Islamic student group for the incident. In yet another incident at Jama Masjid, in the national capital, two bombs exploded and wounded more than 10.

Though no outfit has taken the responsibility for the blast in Hyderabad but it is believed to be a terrorist attack. The similarity between the three unfortunate incidents is that all of them occurred on Friday, when thousands of people had assembled to offer prayers in the mosque.

The situation is under control now with police and security personnel scattered all around the city. But the city came to a standstill as some Muslim organizations and political parties called for shutdown. After this incident, the Osmania University has cancelled all its examinations.

Meanwhile, police has said that terrorist hands can�??t be ruled out. Police have recovered a mobile phone and simcard which is believed to be used to explode the bomb. A senior police official confirmed that the device used in this blast seems a sophisticated one and the clues so far have indicated towards a planned terrorist attack.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other political leaders condemned the attack and urged citizens �??to maintain peace and communal harmony�??.

Y.S.Rajashekhar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh state, of which Hyderabad is capital, said the bombing was an act of �??Sabotage of the peace and harmony in the country.�?�