New Delhi Bomb Leaves 9 Dead Explosion Hits Tourist Quarters In District Foreigners Frequent

A bomb blew up a tourist guest house in the capital on Saturday, killing at least nine people, including four foreigners, police said.

Another 30 people were injured. Most of the victims were shoppers in the building’s ground-floor stores, said Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Angry residents blamed Muslim rebels of Kashmir state, who have fought a six-year battle to separate the state from Hindu-dominated India.

Three of the dead were men from Kashmir.

The foreigners killed included two Nigerians, a Dutch tourist and a woman who has yet to be identified, police said.

The bomb went off Saturday night in the crowded Paharganj district, which draws a large number of foreign tourists. The explosion sent hundreds fleeing in all directions.

“I heard the explosion, turned and saw the building crashing,” said Mayr Gudio, a German tourist who had left the area minutes earlier to buy a soft drink.

The injured included two Nigerians and a Briton. They were among the 20 injured requiring hospitalization, police said.

More victims may be trapped in the rubble, said Nikhil Kumar, New Delhi’s police commissioner.

The bomb destroyed three shops selling leather goods and clothes and the three-story guest house’s first and second floors, police said.

Authorities said they do not know what kind of explosive was used.