JAIPUR : Seven near-simultaneous bomb blasts tore through crowded markets in the Indian tourist city of Jaipur on Tuesday, killing at least 80 people and wounding 150 in what police said was a terror attack.

“We have information that 80 people have died,” Rajasthan state home minister Gulab Chand Kataria told reporters.

“One suspect was detained and is being investigated,” he added in Jaipur, the state capital.

One of the explosions went off near a packed Hindu temple, leaving pools of blood outside in the street and cycles and rickshaws in a mangled heap, television pictures showed.

“We will not tolerate such activities at all,” said Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of the desert state.

Shopping bags, bloodied sandals and shoes were strewn around Johri bazaar, one of the hit markets, which security forces cleared quickly for fear of further blasts.

Junior home minister Shriprakash Jaiswal told reporters, “The people responsible for these attacks have foreign connections,” but he refused to point a finger directly at traditional foe Pakistan.

Police said seven blasts occurred within minutes of each other during the evening in crowded markets of old walled Jaipur, about 260 kilometres (160 miles) from New Delhi.

“Its a terror attack. There was no (intelligence) report of this,” police director general A.S. Gill told reporters.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm, while the United States immediately condemned the wave of bombings.

Historic Jaipur, which has a population of more than two million, is one of Indias top tourist resorts and a favourite attraction for foreigners.

State borders were sealed and a high alert sounded in Rajasthan state and neighbouring areas, police said.

They said there were no immediate reports of any backlash. “There is peace in the town. Nobody should worry,” Arvind Jain, a senior police official, told NDTV television.

The government also issued a nationwide security alert, particularly in New Delhi, where roadblocks were set up on major roads, and the financial capital Mumbai.

US ambassador to Delhi David Mulford condemned the bombs, saying “there can be no possible justification for the murderous attack on innocent people.”

The bombings took place as India marked the 10th anniversary of nuclear tests conducted on May 13 in Rajasthan, but it was unclear if there was any link. AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2008

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