Grenade blast at Amarnath base camp injuries 20

Srinagar, July 18: A grenade blast at Amarnath base camp, Baltal, left twenty persons wounded including a yatri from Uttar Pradesh and a bus driver from Delhi, a police spokesman said tonight.

However, another police spokesman said the number of injured in the blast is 14.

He said unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade near the entrance of heavily guarded Baltal base camp at 2100 hrs.

He said 14 persons including one Rajesh Sharma from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and a bus driver from Delhi were wounded.

The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Nine critically wounded have been shifted to Srinagar hospital.

A CRPF commandant Parveen Kumar told the sources over the phone that the grenade was hurled outside the main frisking gate from Baltal.

When asked about the reports that CRPF sentry at the main gate shot at and wounded the militant who hurled the grenade, Mr Kumar said the jawan saw two people running after the blast.

''We are verifying the facts whether those who were running were responsible for the attack or not,'' he said.

He said a massive identification parade is being conducted and the identification of each person is being verified.

The Commandant said the yatries inside the base camp are safe and the security has been further tightened.

Majority of the blast victims are locals, he added.

UNI

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