Terror hits prayers at Hyderabad mosque

Top state officials said the bomb was 8220;very sophisticated8221; and triggered remotely by a cellphone, and RDX was used in making them.

The blast triggered tension in the old city and police had to deploy heavy forces armed with teargas, rubber bullets and water cannons to tame rioting crowds.

Some locals alleged that the police firing caused four of the 13 deaths, when police were trying to control a mob that set a petrol pump ablaze. State DGP MA Basith denied this claim, saying, 8220;Only rubber bullets were used, which cannot cause deaths.8221;

But later city Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh confirmed that two persons died when police opened fire on the mob at the petrol pump, PTI reported.

Andhra Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy told reporters after visiting the injured at Osmania General Hospital: 8220;We have information that RDX was used in the explosion. We are confident of identifying the culprits very soon.8221; No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The bomb exploded just as the afternoon namaz was coming to an end. The exact site of the mosque was next to the Pani ka houz, a water tank in the mosque8217;s courtyard. The bomb was apparently kept in a metal box under a slab of rock, inches away from the last line of praying devotees.

Police officials said the stone slab muffled the impact of the blast and saved many lives.

8220;We were just offering dua when we heard a loud explosion behind us. There was an announcement that a truck8217;s tyre had exploded, but as I looked behind, I saw people running away. I later saw the floor was littered with people, many of them badly injured,8221; said eyewitness Khari Abdul Qayyum Shakri.

A bomb-disposal squad rushed to the site and found two live bombs kept in metal tiffin boxes covered with gunny bags. Officials said the bombs were strategically placed with one towards the centre of the courtyard and the other towards the side.

Describing the bomb that went off, Basith said it was a 8220;sophisticated grenade-type pipe bomb8221;, most probably 8220;sourced from outside the city8221;.

8220;Such sophisticated equipment is not found in Hyderabad. We are investigating the case. I cannot say who is behind the blast,8221; he said. Parts of the cellphone used to detonate the bomb were found at the site, police said.

As the news of the blast spread, hundreds of people came out on to the streets and clashed with the police. Police clamped down a curfew in the old city late this evening but tension slowly spread to other parts of the city as well. Areas like Shalibanda, Moghulpura and Talab Katta reported rioting and violence.

A bandh has been called in Hyderabad and Secunderabad tomorrow to protest the attack.

Appealing for communal harmony, CM Reddy announced a Rs. 5 lakh compensation for the kin of those dead in the attack. A compensation of Rs. 20,000 was announced for the injured.