Five killed, 20 wounded in Kashmir explosions

Srinagar, Apr 14 (UNI) At least five civilians, including two women, were killed and about 20 others wounded as militants triggered a series of grenade explosions at various places across the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir today.

Confirming the casualties, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Farooq Ahmed told UNI that two civilians, including a woman, were killed in the grenade blast at the busy Hari Singh High Street in Amira Kadal area here.

He said three people, including a woman, were killed in the explosion at the busy Badyari Chowk near Dalgate here.

Mr Ahmed said about 20 people were wounded in the five explosions across the Srinagar city that occurred on the day of Baisakhi and the Friday following Eid-ul-Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad.

The dead have been identified as Deepa Joshi of Nepal, Mudassir Farooq, Shaheena and Javed Ahmed Bhat (all from Srinagar). The fifth person killed was yet to be identified.

While Deepa Joshi and Mudassir Farooq were killed in the blast that took place at the Hari Singh High Street, Shaheena, Javed Ahmed Bhat and an unidentified person died in the attack near Dalgate.

Among the wounded were 17 civilians, two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and a Jammu and Kashmir police constable.

Four militant outfits -- Jamait-ul-Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al Mansoorian and Islamic Front -- have separately claimed the responsibility for the explosions.

The terror attacks came two days after Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir had started showing significant improvement, leading to increased flow of tourists and pilgrims.

It also came less than 24 hours after a high-level meeting reviewed the security arrangements for the April 24 by-elections in three Assembly constituencies of Pattan, Rafiabad and Sangrama in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, about 50 km from here.

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