Indian Kashmir bomb victim dies

INDIA: A victim of a massive bomb attack in Indian Kashmir has died in hospital, police said Thursday, as troops tightened security in the disputed state.

The bomb attack on a flyover in the main city of Srinagar on Wednesday shattered months of relative calm in the region, which had seen a steady decline in rebel violence following the launch of a peace process in 2004 between India and Pakistan.

“One of the injured died of head injuries late Wednesday,” police officer Pervez Ahmed told AFP.

Twenty-three other people were treated for wounds after the attack. Local media said two groups had claimed responsibility: an outfit calling itself the Al Madina Regiment — seen as a front for the Pakistan-based hardline rebel group Lashkar-e-Toiba — and the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahedin, the region’s main rebel group.

Ahmed said security has been tightened across Srinagar, the summer capital and the urban hub of the insurgency. Policemen could be seen stopping vehicles at several points in the city and searching for explosives.

“We are in a state of alert to prevent more attacks,” Ahmed added.

The blast in the heart of the city was the worst since July last year, when seven people were killed in a bomb attack on a tourist bus.

Islamic militants have been fighting New Delhi’s rule over a part of Kashmir since 1989. The unrest has left more than 43,000 people dead by official count.

Meanwhile, a senior member of Hizbul Mujahedin was shot dead during a gunbattle in Ajas, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Srinagar, early Thursday.

India blames Pakistan for aiding Kashmiri rebels, a charge denied by Islamabad, although officials in New Delhi have reported a major drop in militant infiltration from Pakistan in recent months.

Srinagar, Friday, AFP