Bomb kills 10 at New Delhi High Court, Al Qaeda affiliate suspected

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – A powerful bomb placed in a  briefcase outside the High Court in New Delhi killed at least 10  people and wounded 61 today in an attack authorities said  was claimed by a South Asian militant group linked to al Qaeda.
The bomb dug a crater three to four feet deep near the main  reception counter where passes are issued for lawyers and  visitors to enter the sprawling sandstone building before the  main security checkpoint.
Authorities said the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HUJI) militant  group — an al Qaeda affiliate with bases in Pakistan and  Bangladesh — had sent an email claiming responsibility. Ilyas  Kashmiri, who U.S. authorities believe was recently killed in  Pakistan, was the head of HUJI and a senior al Qaeda member.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is on an official visit to  Bangladesh, the first visit by an Indian primier in 12 years.
In an email to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the  group called on India to repeal the death sentence of a man  convicted in connection with an attack on the Indian parliament  in 2001 and warned it would otherwise target major courts in the  country.
“That mail has to be looked at very seriously because HUJI  is a very prominent terrorist group among whose targets India is  one,” NIA chief S.C. Sinha told reporters.
The blast comes as security has been stepped up at key  locations as parliament is in session and ahead of the  anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.  It also comes less than two months after near-simultaneous  triple bomb attacks in India’s financial hub Mumbai killed 24.  No one has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
“I was near the gate at that time,” said lawyer K.K. Gautam  of Wednesday’s attack. “There was an orderly queue when a loud  blast occurred. I saw many injured and dead. I saw 20-25 injured  and around 10 dead.”
The court building compound is in a leafy, usually tranquil  and upscale part of the city. The outside gate is usually manned  by a handful of policemen armed with automatic rifles and  hand-held scanners.
Lawyers in black suits and starched white collars stood  around shocked on one of the busiest days of the week when the  court hears public interest petitions.
About 120 soldiers, police and bomb squad specialists were  at the scene, with ambulances whisking the injured away to  hospitals.
Television images showed scores of lawyers running from one  of the main gates of the building just after the explosion amid  rubble and chaotic scenes. Police cordoned off the area, not far  from parliament and the prime minister’s office.