3 civilians killed in grenade attack in Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir

Three civilians were killed and more than 20 people including Indian armed forces were wounded when unknown people threw a grenade at a state minister and the members of his security detail in Tral area of south Kashmir on Thursday.

According to police officials, the attack took place at around 11.45 a.m. local time (0615GMT) at a crowded bus stand in Tral, around 45 km south of capital Srinagar.

Police officials, speaking to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity, said that around a dozen of the wounded were paramilitary personnel and policemen.

Roads and buildings minister of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, Nayeem Akthar, was in Tral at the time of the attack. Akhtar escaped the attack unscathed.

Among the three civilians killed were two men and a girl who had recently enrolled in a university.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.