India's Home Ministry has described yesterday's bomb blasts in Mumbai as a co-ordinated attack by terrorists, but said it was too early to speculate on who was behind the attacks.
The authorities have revised the death toll from the three explosions down to 17, with more than 130 people injured.
However the ministry said the figures remained ‘subject to change’.
The bombs exploded in crowded areas of the country's commercial capital were the deadliest attack on Indian soil since the 2008 assault on Mumbai by militant gunmen that left 166 dead.
The blasts occurred at about 6.45pm (2.15pm Irish time) yesterday within minutes of each other. At least one car and a motorbike were used in attacks.
The biggest blast was in the Opera House area, a hub for diamond traders. Pakistani-based militants carried out the bloody rampage in 2008 near the same popular area.
Another blast, also in south Mumbai, was at the Zaveri Bazaar, India's largest bullion market which was hit twice in the past.
The third blast was at Dadar, in a crowded street housing Muslim and Hindu shops in the centre of the coastal city.
There was no immediate indication any Pakistani group was involved. Any suggestion of attributing blame to Islamabad would complicate a fraught relationship with India - with whom it has a long-running dispute over Kashmir - and further unravel ties with the United States.
The US has withheld some military aid to Pakistan to pressure it to buckle down in the war on terror.
US President Barack Obama condemned the attacks and offered support to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the blasts in a statement.
