Indian cops seek clues to mosque blast
Afp, Hyderabad
Police sought clues on Saturday to a "sophisticated" blast at a historic mosque that killed 11 people and triggered clashes, which left five dead in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The powerful explosion occurred Friday afternoon at the 17th-century Mecca Mosque and was followed by protests in which police opened fire to subdue rioters angered by the attack staged on the Muslim holy day. Police said earlier that 10 people died from the blast in the capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state and four others had been killed in the ensuing protests. Two more people died of injuries on Saturday, officials said. "The toll now is 16 -- 11 in the blast and five in the police firing," said state chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy at a joint press conference with Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Fifty-six people were still being treated for injuries in hospital, while three had been discharged, Reddy added.
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