Minister escapes death in Kashmir bombing

A key minister in the Indian section of Kashmir survived a second assassination attempt today when a bomb exploded at a public rally, killing five people and wounding at least 50 others.

Other violence in the Himalayan region killed six people, said police.

Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma was at a public gathering in Kapran, a remote village in India’s Jammu-Kashmir state, when a bomb went off near the speakers’ podium.

Sharma and another Kashmiri minister present escaped injury, but state Power Minister Sharif Niaz suffered shrapnel wounds to his legs.

Police said a grenade exploded in the crowd, where hundreds had gathered to hear speeches by the politicians.

More than 50 people were wounded, at least 10 of them critically, including district administrator, Asghar Samoon.

The dead included a police officer, the injured minister’s secretary, two women and a man.

It was the second attempt on Sharma’s life in less than a week.

Pakistan-based militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan. More than 65,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.