India police: Pune bomb likely meant for Chabad House
Explosion at Pune cafe left at least 9 dead, 53 wounded; no one has yet claimed responsibility.
By The Associated Press and Anshel Pfeffer Tags: India Mumbai attacks Israel newsIndian intelligence services said it is highly likely the bomb that tore through a cafe in Pune, India, on Saturday was meant for the local Chabad House, located several dozen meters from the site of the blast.
The blast killed at least 9 people and wounded at least 53 others.
The blast threatened to damage new efforts to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan, with Hindu nationalist leaders already placing the blame for the explosion at India's Muslim neighbor.
It remains unclear whether the coffee shop, a popular tourist spot, was the target for the bombing because the bomb apparently detonated after a waiter opened a bag left on the premises.
One possibility being investigated is that the bag was meant to be picked up at the cafe and taken to the Chabad House.
"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place," said Abba More, who lives nearby.
One foreigner was among those killed and another was wounded, he said, adding that their nationalities were not immediately known.
The building and nearby shops were badly damaged and splattered with patches of blood and several limbs.
Harsh Vardhan Patil, a state minister, said 42 people had been hospitalized with injuries, six of them in critical condition.
Many customers of the cafe, known as the German Bakery, are foreign travelers.
India's Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the blast was potentially the most significant terrorist incident since the Mumbai attacks.
"All the information available to us at the moment points to a plot to explode a device in a place that is frequented by foreigners as well as Indians," he told the Press Trust of India news agency.
He said the government was waiting for the findings of forensic experts before drawing any conclusions.
If it is confirmed to be a bombing, it would be the first major terror strike in India since 10 Pakistan-based gunmen rampaged through hotels and the train station in the financial hub of Mumbai for 60 hours in November 2008.
India has warned of a possible new attack in recent weeks and put its airports on alert for a possible hijacking attempt. The blast came as ties between India and archrival Pakistan appeared to be warming. The two countries agreed to hold talks in New Delhi on February 25, their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
Asked whether the blast was linked to the India-Pakistan talks, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said: "Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]."
But Gopinath Munde, a senior Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party leader, said that this "again is an attack from Pakistan."
Police, anti-terror squads and forensic experts were at the scene investigating the explosion, while a team of federal investigators was flying to the city.
Pillai said the Osho Ashram mediation center of a famed Indian guru, about 200 yards from the cafe, had been surveyed by David Headley, who is facing charges in Chicago that he helped scout out the targets for the Mumbai attack.
Ashok Chavan, the state's top elected official, told reporters that Headley had also surveyed the Chabad Jewish center near the cafe. He said no one has so far claimed had responsibility for Saturday's attack.
In its aftermath, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra state were put on high alert, said Chhagan Bhujbal, the state deputy chief minister.
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Forensic experts look for evidence at bomb site at the German Bakery restaurant in Pune on Sunday. |
| Photo by: (Reuters) |
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listen pal, i live in pune and the chabd house is not more than 200 metres away from the cafe that was bombed, due to the mumbai attacks the chabad house in pune is given police protection who are armed with assault rifles and the entry is restricted
Do you really think the killers were that stupid that they would not be able to identify Habad house? They meant India, not Israel. Your arguement rings like a conspiracy theory. Enjoy!
in pune there is no chabad center look here http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/India/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm there is a teror center who is using chabad name . maschchissim are the taliban not chabad
North Main Road. German Bakery is 291. The Chabad House is 24. About 1.15 Kilometres. About NINETY FIVE dozen metres.
that anti-Zionism = Jew-hatred (anti-Semitism)? True, not all anti-Zionists are Jew-haters, but most are. Therefore, the terms may be used synonymously. On this, see the EUME Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, available online.
You may not have noticed but Muslim Pakistan has had some tension with Hindu India for some years. It has nothing to do with Israel, and the attack on Monbay seems to have been unrelated to Israel. Chabad was never their main target.
"The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agey"
Really? How do you explain the widespread Arab terrorist attacks against Jews (civilians) from the 1920s until the Six Day War then, Alistair? You arte just pulling this fabrication out of thin air to justify what is bascially an anti-Semitic viewpoint that you hold. Maybe you ought to concoct a more convincing fantasy to support your view that Jews deserve to be killed. Pathetic.
Alastair, I essentially agree with The Prophet. The "plight of the poor Palestinians" is an excuse and an insincere one. The only people who really seem to buy that are misguided leftists. Everyone else, in the continuum from committed western anti-Semites to Islamists seize that as an excuse or justification. Were Israel to evacuate to the May 14, 1948 boundaries, Islamic terrorists (and friends) would assert that the simple existence of Israel justifies their acts.
Chabad in Pune: http://www.ChabadIndia.info/house/PuneMain.asp
The Indian govt should take the attack seriously as also educate its citizen to beware of package left in public places. Wasn't there anyone around when the waiter opened the unclaimed bag? Did no one stop him and call the police? The law enforcement too should concentrate on guarding public places, both in uniforms and civil dress, rather than guarding cinema houses in hundreds to enable MNIK shows go on.
"It is not even certain if there is a chabad in Pune." One of the dumbest statements ever- easy enough to check it, but then why bother - right?
You say: "I believe that this is all down to instability due to Israel policy ,its so easy for terrorists to get Israelis abroad". First, they are not "Israelis abroad" but local Jews who live in Pune - there has been a Jewish community there for a long time. (See Post #4). Second, attributing antisemitic behaviour to "Israel policy" is a crock. Terrorists everywhere are after power and money. "Israel policy" is just the figleaf behind which they hide to prevent people from seeing what a bunch of gangsters they really are.
Does it matter now where the bomb was supposed to be put,9 innocent lives and 53 injured, some criticaly. Lets wait and see who is responsible for this outrage.
Intel picked up chatter suggesting that a terrorist attack was imminent some weeks ago. Again, surveillance can only do so much. The waiter in question, was in this case a simple fellow, where the old saying of "curiosity killed the cat"! comes into real meaning. The public in general must be more alert. Somewhere out there, sit terrorists willing to die, some just plant bombs and scramble to safety as in the latter case. A good looking briefcase could well be a handsome reward for a poorly paid waiter. He paid the ultimate price. My condolences to those affected. May the great people of India take note that the war against terror will only increase, for those out there wish for the destruction and chaos of your great democratic multi ethnic country. Good day from snowy Swiss Alps.
Read the article Holmes. Then talk. "It remains unclear whether the coffee shop, a popular tourist spot, was the target for the bombing because the bomb apparently detonated after a waiter opened a bag left on the premises. One possibility being investigated is that the bag was meant to be picked up at the cafe and taken to the Chabad House."
and it's amazing how much space is taken up by reports and analyses of Muslim terror and other violence, most of it unrelated to Israel at all: Darfur, Taliban, al-Qaeda )Bin Laden's inclusion of Israel is an afterthought). Why doesn't someone write an objective report on this phenomenon, placing Israel in its proper perspective? After all, we make up only 0.1 % of the population of the world. Too bad Bernard Lewis is so old.
Does the story support the title ? I detect the title is more of a guess.
Its unfair to attack Jewish civvies abroad.Would all these attacks stop if Israel stopped the occupation?This is a question Israelis must ask themselfs,but is it possible to stop the settlers and bring them from the land to the state or would they prefer to stay and risk jewish lives abroad.In any case I believe that this is all down to instability due to Israel policy ,its so easy for terrorists to get Israelis abroad where there is no(idf) army for protection,could this be hamas getting its revenge. I hope that there are no repeat attacks anyway. shalom
My father was born in Pune, and the Jewish community has built some lovely synagogues there, both Bnai Israel and Baghdadi. Please, police, ensure that the local Jews are kept safe too.
And in Israel the headlines read what is only mentioned in passing in the Indian press. There the press mentions the Chabad House which is according to the Hindustan Times 500 meters away and the Osho Ashram which is diagonally across the street. The speculation is that the bakery was targeted to kill foreigners. That the motive to disrupt talks between Pakistan and India that are scheduled to restart after being stopped by the 26/11 Mumbai attack a in November 2008.
I have read several Indian newspapers. Police suspect a bomb blast and the blast was in a German bakery near an Ashram.The ashram or religious home belongs to Rajneesh or Osho. There is no mention of chabad anywhere in any report.It is not even certain if there is a chanad in Pune.
to hear of this terrible attack, and that they wanted to target Chabad house, yet again, hasveshalom. If Iran gets nuclear arms and Pakistan has them, that will be the true conflagration as we have seen how they have also targeted Shi'as. I hope the wounded will recover. Probably it is because they do not want India-Pakistan talks to succeed.