Life sentences for India bombers

Ayodhya has long been a focus for Hindu-Muslim tensions

Fifteen men have been sentenced to life in the Indian state of Rajasthan for a series of train blasts in 1993.

The men, who are all Muslim, carried out the bombings to avenge the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, the prosecution said.

Two people were killed and 22 injured in the train attacks across India on 6 December 1993 - exactly a year after Hindus pulled the mosque down.

A defence lawyer told the BBC the men would appeal against the verdict.

The men were tried in a special Tada or anti-terrorism court in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

They were convicted for planting bombs in five trains, one of which failed to go off, reported Indian news agency PTI.

One of the accused absconded during the trial and is still at large, the agency said.

History of violence

The razing of the mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state, sparked riots between Hindus and the India's Muslim minority which left 2,000 people dead.

The site continues to be a focus of Hindu-Muslim confrontation.

In 2002, more than 50 people died when a train carrying Hindu activists returning to Gujarat from Ayodhya was set alight by a Muslim mob.

At least 900 Muslims died in the violence that erupted following this attack.