# Al Qaeda-style train attacks in Mumbai **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044 "2006-07-11T16:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/1 "2006-07-11T16:10:31Z")
[Seven simultaneous bombs at rush hour](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5169332.stm), dozens dead. Crap. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/2 "2006-07-11T16:26:46Z")
Would AQ have any motive for striking India? I’m guessing this probably has more to do with India’s homegrown problems than problems from abroad. Still, it’s horrifying to have another event strike innocent people and again combined with mass transit. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/3 "2006-07-11T16:28:41Z")
Have the Tamil Tigers done something like this before? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/4 "2006-07-11T16:32:50Z")
I really doubt it’s the Tigers - they’re attacking Sri Lanka, not India. There has been Sikh terrorism for a while, but not on this scale lately. “Simultaneous public transport bombs” is an AQ meme though. I’d put money on it being a Kashmir issue; and who knows how much penetration AQ has into the Pakistani Kashmir side. Quite a lot, I’d imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/5 "2006-07-11T16:34:50Z")
Well, India has been historicaly opposed to Pakistan, and there have been terrorist attacks in relation to the dispute over Kashmir in the recent past. On top of that in a country with a Hindu majority, a Muslim minority, and a history of strife between the two groups I would not be suprised if they could find a reason. With no more information on the attacks I would not out right say that this is the result of radical muslims, but if they wanted to they certainly could come up with a “justification”. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/6 "2006-07-11T17:24:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Seven simultaneous bombs at rush hour](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5169332.stm), dozens dead. Crap. It’s now up to 135, and will certainly climb higher. [CNN has all kinds of video of the aftermath.](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/mumbai.blasts/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/7 "2006-07-11T18:01:15Z")
Maybe terrorists in general are developing more sophisticated notions. Dammit. ☹ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/8 "2006-07-11T19:13:22Z")
Hoping that all the InDopers (Xash etc) are OK ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/9 "2006-07-11T19:42:02Z")
I’d suspect ISI before AQ. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-qaeda-style-train-attacks-in-mumbai/364044/10 "2006-07-15T06:27:46Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > Hoping that all the InDopers (Xash etc) are OK Yes, thank you for asking. **gouda** and my family and friends are ok, but it could very easily have been one of us. I used to travel that route daily, and know many people who still do. My mom travels that way often, although thankfully she was out of town at the time of the blasts. A close friend of mine got off one of the targetted trains just 2 stops before her train was hit. Another ex-colleague of mine lost his life in one of the blasts. I believe the attack is related to the dispute over Kashmir. Investigations are not yet conclusive. The last time we experienced attacks of this magnitude was back in 1993. That March, I was less than a mile away from one of the buildings that were targetted. That building, incidentally, is the head office of the company for which I currently work. The city of Bombay has an amazingly resilient spirit, which shines through especially in times of crises. The night of the attacks, people were out in the streets offering food, water and shelter to those stranded on their way home. Train services resumed that very night, and ran through the night to get people home. A day after the attacks, the trains were running again at full capacity. Schools, colleges, offices reported regular attendance. > **[Comment, opinion and discussion from the Guardian US | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us/commentisfree)** > > Latest opinion, analysis and discussion from the Guardian. CP Scott: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred" > [@](#): > > And adjust they do, always, all the time. The roads of Bombay today are filled with people walking home, offered water and food by people living in the neighbourhood. Slum dwellers have jumped into the fray, offering help to the stranded people walking home. Rides are offered and accepted, and nobody asks anyone what their faith, language or caste may be. Only the blood group matters, and there are queues of people at hospitals waiting to donate. And according to some blogs, the Western Railway will resume service tonight, running trains through the night. The show goes on in Bombay, always. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003123537\_india13.html](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003123537_india13.html) > [@](#): > > BOMBAY, India — They were the same rickety trains, rolling along the same tracks, carrying the same people — millions of Bombay residents who a day earlier had been targeted in a series of bombings. > > As the death toll from Tuesday’s eight near-simultaneous explosions rose to at least 200, Bombay’s transport lifeline flowed again, the tracks cleared of debris and platforms cleaned of blood. > > Stunned and scared, Bombay residents nonetheless returned to the trains. Some said they were determined not to be cowed, and others said they had no choice. > > For Brijesh Ojha, a 35-year-old security guard, the difference a day made was stark. > > He spent Tuesday night pulling bloodied bodies from the twisted wreckage of a train torn apart by a bomb. Wednesday he was riding again. > > Bombay’s transport system is used by some 6 million people daily, transporting commuters from far-flung suburbs into the center of this frenetic metropolis, known as much for Bollywood as for streets clogged with traffic. For local news updates, have a look at these news sites: > **[News: US News, Top News in India, US election news, Business news, Sports...](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/us)** > > Read Top News in India and around the World on Times of India. Breaking news coverage and analysis on US presidential election, politics, current affairs, business & sports. > **[Latest Mumbai News | India news | Entertainment News | Latest News in Mumbai,...](http://www.mid-day.com)** > > Get latest Mumbai news headlines, local news headlines for today, Top Bollywood stories, Entertainment news, Mumbai city breaking news, crime news, life style content from India, exclusive photo galleries and other trending content only at... > **[Rediff.com: News | Rediffmail | Stock Quotes | Shopping](https://www.rediff.com/)** > > ✔Read Latest India News ✔Get Realtime Stock Quotes ✔See Live Cricket Scores ✔Log in to Rediffmail ✔Buy Smart Products on Rediff Shopping