An assailant threw a grenade at a marketplace bustling with shoppers in the main city of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Sunday, wounding at least nine people, police said.
The attack occurred in the main business center of Srinagar, where the Sunday flea market is visited by thousands of people. Police said an unidentified attacker hurled the grenade from a flyover bridge, apparently targeting a stationed paramilitary vehicle.
The grenade exploded in the midst of shoppers and vendors, wounding at least nine people who were taken to a hospital. Reinforcements of police and paramilitary soldiers launched a search for the attacker.
Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack, saying “There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians” and calling on the security apparatus to “end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear.”
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Militants in the Indian-controlled portion have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
The grenade attack comes a day after a suspected militant was killed in a daylong gunbattle with security forces in Srinagar, a rare occurrence in the city where security is typically tight. While the region has seen sporadic militant attacks, the targeting of a crowded market underscores the continued volatility and threat of violence in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The latest incident will further heighten tensions in the disputed territory, as India blames Pakistan for sponsoring the Kashmir militancy, while Pakistan denies the charge and supports what it considers a legitimate freedom struggle. Resolving the long-standing conflict remains a major challenge for the two nuclear-armed rivals.
AP
