Land mine kills schoolgirl and injures 20

A land mine blast has ripped through a bus carrying schoolgirls, killing one and injuring 20.

A group of four bus were taking the schoolgirls to Pahalgam, a Himalayan skiing resort.

In another land mine attack, a commandant and five soldiers of the Border Security Force were killed in Jammu-Kashmir state.

Five soldiers were injured in the attack in Gool. The Pakistan-based Hezb-ul Mujahedeen guerrillas are claiming responsibility.

Ghazi Moinuddin, a spokesman of the Hezb-ul Mujahedeen said: "We have launched Operation Fateh (victory) since September 1. This is aimed at targeting security forces and exhibiting our power."

The Hezb is among more than a dozen Pakistan-based separatist groups fighting for Kashmir's independence from India since 1989.

India accuses neighbouring Pakistan of training and arming the guerrillas, a charge Islamabad denies.

Human rights groups say nearly 60,000 people have been killed since the insurgency erupted nearly 12 years ago.

The two countries have fought three wars in the last five decades, two of them over the territorial dispute in Kashmir.