Fire on Indian train kills 64
A fire that raked through a train traveling from India to Pakistan early Monday morning killed at least 64 people and India’s top railway official said it was an attack by militants trying to harm India-Pakistan relations.
Two suitcases filled with flammable material that appeared to be explosive devices were found at the scene in northern India, said V.N. Mathur, general manager of the Northern Railway. He said one was found inside a burned train car and the other was on the railroad tracks.
But even before investigators confirmed the fire was the result of an attack, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad blamed militants bent on harming relations between longtime rivals India and Pakistan.
Indian security forces were put on alert after the fire, and police swarmed many stations, but train service continued.
The fire engulfed two cars of the Samjhauta Express, one of two train links between India and Pakistan.
BANGKOK, Thailand
Series of bombs kills 3, hurts 50
At least 29 bombs exploded Sunday in apparently coordinated attacks in parts of southern Thailand plagued by a Muslim insurgency, killing three people and wounding more than 50, the military said.
The bombings targeted hotels, karaoke bars, power grids and commercial sites in the country’s southernmost provinces, the only parts of predominantly Buddhist Thailand with Muslim majorities. Two public schools were torched.
Police said three Thais of Chinese descent were also gunned down in Pattani province in what was believed to be the act of insurgents.
The violence continued this morning when homemade bomb killed a Thai army officer near his home in Yala province and wounded a 7-year-old boy, provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Phaitoon Chuchaiya said. In Narathiwat, a bomb explosion injured three policemen as their patrol neared a small railway station.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia
Explosion wounds six at McDonald’s
An explosion hit a McDonald’s restaurant in the city center on Sunday, injuring at least six people, officials said.
The explosion blew out windows at the restaurant and partially destroyed the ceiling, said Irina Andriyanova, spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry.
She said six people were wounded, including four who were hospitalized with various injuries, including concussions and cuts from flying glass.
Ekho Moskvy radio, citing eyewitnesses, said the blast went off in the handbag a restaurant patron. Officials did not say whether they believed the explosion was related to terrorism or a criminal act.