A bomb exploded in a historic mosque in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. At least nine people have been killed and fifteen injured in the Mecca Mosque, where over one thousand people had gathered for Friday prayers [May 18]. [At least three more were killed in subsequent violence in the city.] [IBN, India, May 18]

An Indian court has begun sentencing 100 alleged terrorists for their involvement in the deadly blasts in Mumbai in 1993, which killed 257 people. The first five were handed three year jail terms. The attack was carried out by elements of Mumbai's murky underground crime world, then dominated by Muslims who sought revenge for communal flare-ups. Also facing sentencing is Sanjay Dutt, a Bollywood film star who had in his possession fire-arms belonging to the organisers of the blast. Dawood Ibrahim, the suspected mastermind of the blast, has eluded capture; Indian officials accuse Pakistan of harboring him, a charge that Islamabad vehemently denies. [BBC, May 18]

From Madrid11.net Security Briefs, May 18

See our last posts on India and sectarian violence.