Blast in Army canteen leaves 9 dead

Baramulla, Oct 11: Seven soldiers and two civilians were killed and scores wounded in a blast inside an Army canteen at Pattan in north Kashmir district this afternoon.

Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), which has declared three-day unilateral ceasefire from tomorrow, has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Official sources said seven soldiers and two civilians had died and eight soldiers were wounded.

However, a defence spokesperson in Srinagar said the initial reports stated that the blast in the canteen was caused after a gas cylinder exploded in which two civilians were killed and four soldiers wounded.

The spokesperson said the exact number of dead and injured could be known only after the debris of the structure, damaged in the blast, are removed.

A Baramulla report said a gas cyclinder exploded inside the canteen at Hamraj Pattan this afternoon. The blast was followed by two more blasts.

An HM spokesman said they detonated the blast inside the canteen, in which more than a dozen soldiers were killed and scores wounded.

UNI