Near simultaneous blasts kill at least 8 in Mumbai

(REUTERS): Three explosions rocked crowded districts of Mumbai during rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least eight people, media said, in the biggest attack on the city since 2008 assaults blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

At least 100 people were wounded in the near-simultaneous blasts, the home secretary said. Police earlier said at least three people had died.

One blast occurred at the Opera House, a tourist destination in south Mumbai near where Pakistani-based militants carried out the bloody rampage in 2008, killing 166 people.

Another blast, also in south Mumbai, was at the Zaveri Bazaar, the coastal city's diamond hub. The third blast was in the centre of the city. CNN-IBN said police had told the broadcaster the blasts were caused by improvised explosive devices.

All three locations are crowded parts of the city, especially during rush hour.

India has remained jittery about the threat of militant strikes, especially since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 which killed 166 people and raised tensions with arch rival Pakistan.

The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, long focused on fighting the government rule in Kashmir, was blamed for the coordinated attacks.

Television footage from CNN-IBN television channel showed debris of twisted metal, motorbikes and cars severely damaged at one suspected blast site.