Washington, DC – The United States on Thursday (February 21) strongly condemned the terrorist bombings in Hyderabad which killed more than a dozen people. Top US diplomats, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and Deputy Secretary William J. Burns, personally conveyed their condolences to the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
After meeting with the Indian secretary, Secretary Kerry, with a personal signature tweeted, “@StateDept Saw friend/Foreign Secretary Mathai– discussed importance of relationship w/ #India, expressed sympathies to brave people of#Hyderabad –JK.” A State Department spokesperson added, “The “JK” tag indicates that Secretary Kerry personally wrote the message.”
Mathai also met with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy R. Sherman at the State Department, according to a State Department spokesperson. “Under Secretary Sherman expressed the United States’ condolences for the Hyderabad bombings and underscored the priority we attach to our counterterrorism cooperation,” the spokesperson said, adding, “Both look forward to another round of the US-India Strategic Dialogue later this year.”
Earlier, addressing the daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, “We condemn the cowardly attack in Hyderabad, India, in the strongest possible terms, and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected and to the people of India.”
“The United States stands with India in combating the scourge of terrorism, and we are also prepared to offer any and all assistance that Indian authorities may need,” Nuland added.