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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050817...ahvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Blasts rock Bangladesh cities; one dead, 100 hurt
By Nizam Ahmed 12 minutes ago
DHAKA (Reuters) - Scores of mysterious bomb blasts, apparently targeting government buildings, rocked cities across Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing one person, wounding at least 100 and triggering panic.
State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babr said the blasts appeared to be "pre-planned and well organized" but he did not blame any individual or group.
Roughly 200 homemade bombs exploded on the streets, at courts and near key government buildings in various places across Bangladesh between 0500 and 0530 GMT, police and witnesses said.
One bomb also exploded outside Dhaka's Sheraton Hotel, security officers said.
A rickshaw driver was killed in the northern city of Rajshahi, while the wounded were taken to hospitals in the capital Dhaka, the southern port city of Chittagong and dozens of towns elsewhere in the nation of 140 million people, police and witnesses said.
Bombs also exploded in the capital's heavily guarded Gulshan diplomatic enclave and outside Dhaka international airport. Police said no foreigners were hurt.
Bangladesh, which has been hit by a number of unexplained bombings over the past two years, has never experienced anything quite like this before.
Authorities issued security alerts all over the country but were unable to identify the bombers immediately, though police said dozens of suspects had been detained.
Bangladesh has a long history of political violence, labor strife and gang warfare.
But Wednesday's blasts turned the focus on the presence of Islamic militants, who have been blamed in the past for bomb explosions at religious shrines and rallies.
No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, but copies of a leaflet found at most of the bomb sites carried a call by a banned Islamic group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, for Islamic rule in Bangladesh.
"It is the third call to establish Islamic rule in the country. If ignored and (if) our people are arrested or persecuted, Jaamat-ul-Mujahideen (Assembly of Holy Warriors) will take the counter action," the leaflets said.
The leaflets warned the United States and Britain against occupation of Muslim lands...