Police on Saturday arrested two men suspected of being Islamic militants involved in a series of explosions that ripped through courthouse complexes in three north Indian cities last month, killing at least 16 lawyers. The men, who police suspect belong to the Bangladesh-based Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami group, were arrested before dawn at a railway station near Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, said Brij Lal, a senior state police official. "The arrested men, identified as Mohammed Khalid and Mohammed Tariq, are suspected to be involved in the serial blasts at courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi last month," he said.

Federal authorities have blamed militants trying to spark unrest between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority for the Nov. 23 blasts.

Lal said both men are Indian Muslims and "part of a close network that provided local support to the terrorists." However, he would not say if they were suspected of actually planting the bombs.

Eleven people were killed in Varanasi, one of Hinduism's holiest cities, while five people died in Faizabad. An explosion in Lucknow caused no deaths or injuries.

A series of terrorist bombings have rocked India in the past two years. In August, a pair of explosions killed 43 people in the southern city of Hyderabad. In July 2006, bombs in seven Mumbai commuter trains killed more than 200 people.

India routinely blames Pakistani or Bangladesh-based groups for the attacks - charges both countries deny.

Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami, which wants to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh, has been known to attack non-Bangladeshi targets, including Western diplomats.