M A I N   N E W S

Anantnag blast leaves 18 hurt
Narrow escape for Amarnath yatris

BSF men examine the damage to a windscreen of a car after a grenade explosion in Srinagar on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Injured being treated at a government hospital in Jammu on Wednesday. — PTI photo

Srinagar, July 24
Eighteen persons, including four policemen, were injured today when militants exploded a powerful grenade at a crowded Anantnag bus stand in south Kashmir, minutes after a vehicle carrying Amarnath pilgrims passed by.

The grenade was hurled by militants towards a moving security vehicle at the bus stand, 55 km from here, the police said.

The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the road, wounding 14 pedestrians and four policemen patrolling the area.

The injured were shifted to Anantnag district hospital by the police and paramilitary forces who cordoned off the bus stand immediately after the explosion.

Six of the seriously injured persons were referred to Srinagar for treatment. The condition of one of them, Constable Gurmeet Singh, was stated to be ‘critical’.

The police said the explosion took place around 5.15 pm and it was just a coincidence that Amarnath pilgrims were on move at the time of the grenade attack.

However, no harm was caused to the pilgrims who had just crossed the scene of the explosion.

Meanwhile, six persons, including a Border Security Force sub-inspector, were killed and 29 others injured in militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours.

The dead included two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants.

A senior BSF officer said militants, reportedly hiding in a mosque, hurled a hand grenade followed by firing on a road opening party at Kulgam, about 70 km from here, in south Kashmir around 7.30 am this morning. Two BSF personnel, Sub-Inspector Ram Singh and constable Mohammad Aslam, died on the spot, he added.

Panic gripped the general bus stand of Batmaloo after militants shot at and wounded police constable Abul Hamid today. He was rushed to SMHS Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, an official spokesman said.

He said militants fired a rifle grenade towards a BSF camp at Ranbir Bhavan Barbar Shah, this afternoon. The grenade exploded in the camp, injuring three personnel.

He said a girl was killed and at least 26 others, including six police personnel, were wounded when militants lobbed a hand grenade at Rajouri Bazaar last evening. PTI