(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-23 19:37

NEW DELHI -- Multiple blasts struck three cities in India's northern Uttar Pradesh on Friday. At least four persons were killed and over a dozen injured.

The bombs were all planted near civil courts in three cities of Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The attacks occurred within five minutes of each other, police said.

In Lucknow, the state capital, the blast took place when a bomb kept in a bicycle exploded, but the intensity of the blast was not much, sources said. Four persons killed were in the Faizabad blast.

Bomb disposal squads have been pressed into service in the three districts and were conducting extensive searches of other court buildings, police said.

Officials from Indian Home Ministry said the attacks are being viewed as a terror strike. Teams will be dispatched shortly to take an overall view of the situation.

Lawyers over the past months have refused to represent terrorists in these states. The attacks could perhaps be an attempt by terrorists to target the lawyers, local media said.