Terror struck Uttar Pradesh on Friday when militants triggered near-simultaneous blasts on  court premises in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow, killing 15 people, four of them lawyers, and injuring over 80.

Six bombs -- three in Varanasi, two in Faizabad and one in Lucknow -- some planted on cycles, went off within a span of 15 minutes in the crowded court complexes between 1310 hours and 1325 hours.

Ammonium Nitrate and timer devices were used in triggering the blasts in Lucknow and Varanasi, sources said, adding Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul Jihadi Islamia militant outfit could be behind the attacks.

A near-stampede broke out in and around the blast spots with many injured bleeding profusely running for their life while several other wounded lay on the floor crying for help.

The police rushed to the spots and cordoned off the area and helped people in rushing the injured to various hospitals.

S B Shirodkar, senior superintendent of police in Varanasi, which was the target of a terror strike last year, said 11 people were killed and 65 injured, eight of them seriously, when two bombs planted on cycles went off in quick succession.

He said the injured were admitted to four hospitals including Benares Hindu University Hospital. He said the explosives, planted on cycles, went off when the court premises was crowded with lawyers and litigants.