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Police Pursue Suspects in Blasts That Killed 43 in Southern India


Police in southern India have named 15 people suspected of involvement in a series of bombings that killed at least 43 people a week ago.

Hyderabad police commissioner Balwinder Singh says four of the people on the list have already been taken into custody.

The police commissioner identified Shahid Bilal as the alleged mastermind of the August 25 attacks. Bilal is a suspected member of the Bangladesh-based militant group Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami (HUJI).

Singh said the same suspects may also have been involved in the May 18 blasts at a historic mosque, Mecca Masjid, in the city that killed 11 people.

Police say one of the suspects confessed to bringing explosives from Bangladesh to India in February on Bilal's orders.

The explosives described by the detained suspect are the same type used in the May attacks, but do not appear to be the same as what was used in the most recent blasts.

Indian officials have blamed Islamic extremists based in Pakistan and Bangladesh for the attacks in the information technology hub.

The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party staged a general strike last week to protest the government's failure to prevent the bombings.

Police said the May bombings were designed to instigate sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims.

During riots that erupted after the May bombings, police shot and killed five people. Police fired live ammunition and tear gas to subdue hundreds of stone-throwing protesters, who accused the police of failing to provide adequate protection at the mosque.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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