FIVE bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded markets and streets in the heart of Delhi yesterday, killing at least 20 people and injuring scores more.

Two of the bombs in India’s capital failed to detonate and were defused by police. “So far 20 people have died,” said Delhi’s police commissioner, YS Dadwal, though he added that the devices had not been of “high intensity”.

Police and witnesses said two had gone off in dustbins around Connaught Place, a popular shopping and dining area in the centre of the city. Others exploded in busy markets around the city within minutes of each other. The city’s modern metro system was shut down after one bomb exploded near the entrance to a station.

“Around 6.30pm we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running,” said Chan-chal Kumar, a witness whose shirt was soaked in the blood of several victims he had helped carry into ambulances. “There were about 100-200 people around this place.”

A local television news channel received an e-mail sent just before the blasts which read: “In the name of Allah, Indian Mujaheddin strikes back once more . . . Do whatever you can. Stop us if you can.”

Police said that they were questioning a 12-year-old boy who may have seen one of the bombers. They said that two suspects had been arrested and held for questioning.

The Indian Mujaheddin was little known before May, when it claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in the western city of Jaipur that killed 61 people. The group, which is said by police to be unconnected with Al-Qaeda, also claimed responsibility for blasts in the western state of Gujarat in July, which killed 45.

It is believed to be an offshoot of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India, but local Muslims appear to have been given training in bomb-making and have found backing from militant groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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