Bombs injure three soldiers in Kashmir

Bombs exploded today during Independence Day celebrations in India’s portion of Kashmir, despite tight security in the region.

One of the Pakistan-based militant groups fighting to wrest Kashmir from India claimed responsibility for the attack. In India’s capital, New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier demanded Pakistan dismantle terror camps on its side of Kashmir.

Three paramilitary soldiers suffered minor injuries when the two bombs exploded in quick succession 100 yards from the main entrance of Srinagar’s Bakshi stadium, said police officer Muneer Khan.

Another bomb exploded in the village of Pattan, 20 miles north of Srinagar, but injured no one, police said.

Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, Kashmir’s biggest Islamic militant group, claimed responsibility for the Srinagar blasts.

At the time of the blasts, thousands of people were inside the Srinagar stadium to attend celebrations marking India’s 58 years of independence. The bombs exploded an hour before Jammu-Kashmir’s top elected official, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, reached the venue.

Separatists fighting for Kashmir’s independence or its merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan had called for a boycott of today’s celebrations.

India accuses Pakistan of aiding the militants, who run training camps on the Pakistani side of Kashmir, a charge denied by Islamabad.

The South Asian nuclear rivals both claim all of the divided Himalayan region and have fought two wars over it. Their relations have, however, improved in recent years after Pakistan promised to crack down on the militants.

But Singh complained today that Pakistan was not doing enough.

“Pakistan has put some checks on the activities of terrorists. However, it is not possible to achieve success through half-hearted efforts,” Singh said in his Independence Day address. “It is necessary that the entire infrastructure of terrorism is totally dismantled.”

Today’s blasts came despite hundreds of thousands security forces deployed across India to prevent attacks.

In New Delhi, sharpshooters took positions on high-rise buildings and police frisked thousands of people who gathered at the city’s historic Red Fort to watch Singh hoist the tricolour national flag.

Security also was tight in the north-eastern India, where separatist insurgents staged a series of attacks last week. No violence was reported there today.