Mosque blast kills Muslim leader in India

A prominent Muslim religious leader was killed in a blast outside a mosque in Indian Kashmir today.

Police said the blast went off as Moulvi Showkat Ahmed Shah was nearing the mosque in Srinagar to lead prayers. Shah is the president of the religious group Jamiat-e-ahle Hadith.

At least two other people were wounded.

No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Since 1989, more than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with neighbouring Pakistan.