NEW DELHI - A series of bombs exploded across the ancient city of Jaipur on Tuesday, killing at least 60 people and transforming busy markets, a jewelry bazaar and a Hindu temple into scenes of carnage.

All seven blasts were within the old walls of the western city known for its pink-hued palaces, and suspicion quickly fell on Islamic militant groups blamed for a string of attacks in India in recent years. Police said an eighth bomb was found and defused by police.

"Obviously, it's a terrorist" attack, said A.S. Gill, the police chief of Rajasthan, the state where Jaipur is located. "The way it has been done, the attempt was to cause the maximum damage to human life."

In Washington, the U.S. government condemned the attack. "The United States stands with the government and people of India in their ongoing fight to eliminate the scourge terrorism," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.