Five killed in Kashmir grenade blast

A bomber hurled a grenade into a crowd at a Muslim shrine in the town of Kulgam in Indian Kashmir today, killing five people and wounding at least 29 more, five of them critically, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Among the dead was a well-known local politician, police said, adding that the critically wounded were being moved to a hospital in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Kulgam is some 60km south of Srinagar.

A crowd had gathered in a square at a local Muslim shrine to celebrate a recent announcement that Kulgam would become a seat of local government, giving residents access to more services.

The gathering was organised by local opposition politician Sakina Itoo, said Kulgam police officer Altaf Ahmad. A district leader from her National Conference Party and former lawmaker, identified as Ghulam Nabi, was killed and Itoo was lightly wounded by shrapnel, he said.

More than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for Muslim-majority Kashmir’s independence from predominantly Hindu India or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. The conflict has killed more than 67,000 people.

Police suspect the militants attacked the rally because they oppose the spread of Indian control in the region, Ahmad said.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. It is claimed by both in its entirety.

India accuses longtime rival Pakistan of training, arming and funding the militants. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only offers the rebels diplomatic and moral support.

The two nuclear-armed neighbour countries have fought two wars over Kashmir since 1947.