Scores injured as bomb hits Kashmir

A suspected car bomb exploded today in the main business district of Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s Jammu-Kashmir state, injuring scores of people, witnesses said.

Heavy firing was heard soon after the explosion, which created a grey plume of smoke visible for about one mile away. It was not clear who was firing at whom, or whether there were any fatalities.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but suspicion fell on Islamic rebels who have been fighting for independence or merger with neighbouring Pakistan since 1989. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Many cars, motorcycles and bicycles were damaged in the powerful blast near the four-storey corporate headquarters of the state-owned Jammu-Kashmir Bank in the Lal Chowk area.

“The explosion was massive and there are a large number of casualties. I saw a lot of injured people on the road crying. I don’t know about fatalities,” Nazir Ahmed, a bank manager, told AP by telephone.

Large metallic chunks of a destroyed car were strewn at the front gate of the bank.

About 10 to 15 people were seen with injuries sitting on the ground. Several women were wailing and beating their chests, looking for missing relatives.

The Lal Chowk area, in the heart of Srinagar, is usually crowded with office-goers and shoppers.

Mohammed Shafi, a taxi driver, said people were running everywhere after the explosion as confusion intensified when the gunfire started. He said he saw a stationary minibus with eight severely-injured people in it and no driver.

Shafi said he drove the minibus away while the firing was going on to a safer street, from where other people took the injured to hospital.

The explosion occurred near the area where yesterday militants attacked a police compound, killing four people. The rebels later holed up in a hotel for 24 hours before one was captured and the other killed by security forces.

Meanwhile, suspected militants opened fire on a police convoy in Awantipura town near Srinagar today, said superintendent of police GM Dhar. He said one soldier died of a heart attack and another suffered a gunshot wound.