As relatives went to morgues to claim their dead or visited the injured in hospitals, investigators of Monday's bombings focused their probe on Muslim militants.

These included groups that Hindu-majority India alleges are backed by Muslim Pakistan - sparking fears of increasing tensions just when relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors appeared on the mend.

Pakistan, however, condemned the carnage as "wanton targeting of civilians," and the United Nations and the United States also denounced the attack.

"Acts of terror are intended to sow fear and chaos among free peoples," President Bush said in a statement. "I hope that the perpetrators of these murders will be identified quickly and brought to justice."

Indian police and officials said they had no direct evidence of who carried out the bombings and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed Hindus as well as Muslims.

"I can say it is a terrorist group, but which group, we can't say," said Kripa Shankar, the home minister of Maharashtra state where Mumbai is located.

Terrorist attacks in the past have triggered severe tit-for-tat sectarian violence, and Muslims in Mumbai worried that they would be blamed by Hindus.

"There is a fear gripping the city," Muslim community leader and businessman Sohail Rokadia said. Overnight, roads in several parts of the city - usually clogged with traffic - were deserted.

But the metropolis of 16 million people, India's largest, appeared calm as daybreak brought the usual hectic activity. Office-goers crowded pedestrian crossings on their way to work. Schoolchildren were seen off by their parents and worshippers thronged the popular Siddhi Vinayak temple as part of Hindu religious festivities that will climax on Sunday to honor the elephant god Ganesh.

The bombs in two taxis exploded minutes apart, ripping through a crowded jewelry market, the Zaveri Bazaar, and in front of a colonial-era tourist attraction, the Gateway of India. The blasts shattered window panes of the luxury Taj Mahal hotel facing the gateway and several other buildings.