80 dead as seven blasts rock Jaipur

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."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Tuesday condemned the near-simultaneous bombings in the Indian city of Jaipur.

"Today's bombings in Jaipur have shown again the horrific destruction which terrorism brings," Miliband said in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Tuesday expressed revulsion at bomb blasts and offered to step up help to India in fighting terrorism.

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.

India has been plagued by bombings across the country in recent years and routinely points the finger at foreign-based militant groups fighting in the Held Kashmir.

In October last year, an explosion killed six people and wounded 32 in a packed cinema hall in Ludhiana in Punjab state in northern India. Police called it a "terrorist" bombing.

In August, 43 people were killed and 70 injured in the southern city of Hyderabad when attackers triggered blasts at an outdoor auditorium and a popular eatery.

A series of explosions outside courts in three northern cities killed 13 last November.