M A I N   N E W S

A DAY OF BLASTS
5 dead, 33 hurt in Srinagar
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 14
At least five persons were killed and 33 others, including 10 security personnel, were injured in six successive grenade explosions here today. The series of five explosions took place within one hour, beginning around noon at different places between Dalgate and Batamaloo through the Lal Chowk area, the nerve centre of this summer capital city. The dead included two women.

The explosions took place ahead of the forthcoming byelections to four Assembly constituencies, three in Kashmir and one in Jammu division, scheduled to be held on April 24. The serial explosions also coincided with Baisakhi, and the Friday prayers following Id-e-Milad, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.

The police here said that militants lobbed five hand grenades towards the security force deployments and vehicles on Exchange Road, Hari Singh High Street, Batamaloo, Dalgate and Magharmal Bagh. A police vehicle was damaged in the grenade attack at Batamaloo, police officials said.

Three persons, including a woman, were killed and several others injured when militants lobbed a grenade at Badyari Chowk, Dalgate. They were identified as Shaheena from Lal Bazar, Javed Ahmad Bhat of Brane, Nishat in Sringar and Anup Singh, a carpenter from Punjab.

A woman identified as Deepa Joshi from Nepal, an employee in Centaur Lake View Hotel and Mudassir Farooq of Rawalpora, Budgam, were killed in the explosion at Hari Singh High Street.

Three BSF personnel were injured in the first explosion when suspected militants hurled a grenade towards the security picket at the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) on Exchange Road around noon. Those injured were admitted to the SMHS, the Bone and Joints Hospital and the SKIMS, Soura, here.

At least 13 persons, including eight civilians and five police and CRPF personnel, were injured when militants hurled a grenade towards a joint patrol party at Safakadal here at about 6.30 this evening.

Those injured included three jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and two personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir police. Of them, a Sub-Inspector of the Traffic Police was seriously injured. The injured had been shifted to the nearby SMHS hospital.

Elsewhere, at least three persons, including two militants, were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Anantnag district, while four others, including a security jawan, were injured in a grenade explosion at Sopore in Baramula district yesterday.

Three persons, including two militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Maha Bhan, Kulgam in Anantnag district, yesterday.

The militants killed in the encounter were identified as Mubashir Ahmad Dar and Irshad Ahmad Khan of the same area. Two AK rifles, eight magazines, 176 rounds, five hand grenades and a cellphone were recovered from the site of the encounter.

A mentally challenged boy, Firdous Ahmad Wani, who was caught in the crossfire between the militants and the security forces, was also killed, the police said.

Four persons, including a BSF jawan, were injured when unidentified militants hurled a grenade towards a picket of the security forces at Sopore in Baramula district last evening.