A court in India has sentenced to death a record 38 people for a deadly terror attack in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in 2008, in which up to 20 bombs were set off across the city in hospitals, shopping centres and parks, leaving 56 dead.
It was the first time so many accused have received death sentences in a single case in the country. The sentence must be confirmed by a higher court. Judge AR Patel also sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment in the case.
… A previously unknown Islamist terror organisation, the Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attack but Gujarat police said a nationwide network of radical Islamist groups were involved in the blasts. The Indian Mujahadeen is believed to be a faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), a group of young extremists who had declared jihad against India. Among those given death sentences on Friday was Safdar Nagori, the former Simi leader.
