10 Injured In Grenade Blast In Shopian District

SRINAGAR: At least 10 people were injured in a suspected grenade explosion outside a mosque while unknown persons hurled a grenade at a Hizbul Mujahideen commander's house in south Kashmir's Shopian district Thursday morning.

Police officials said the explosion took place at around 5:30 am on Thursday when worshippers were coming out of the mosque in Trenz village of Shopian after offering morning prayers.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion happened when the caretaker of the mosque, who was not immediately identified, picked up a tumbler lying in the mosque complex, which blew up, causing injuries to ten people.

"Among the injured, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, 55, Naeem Ijaz Lone, 30, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, 60 and Bilal Ah Shah, 35, were referred to Srinagar's SMHS hospital in a critical condition," a J&K Police officer said.

Mohammad Ismail Dar, 55, one of the injured, said the explosive device was placed beneath the tumbler, "The tumbler exploded was a loud thud. I couldn't hear anything for some time. There was blood all around me," he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. "Police defused a similar device in the area on Thursday in a house belonging to a commander of Hizbul Mujahedeen," Inspector General of Police (Kashmir), Javed Mujtaba Gillani, said.

Meanwhile, unidentified persons lobbed a grenade at a militant’s house in Shopian Thursday morning. However, the grenade did not explode. The grenade was discovered by a family member of Waseem Ahmad Malla, a resident of Pahlipora in Shopian and a Hizbul Mujahideen commander.

The family members called the police following which the bomb disposal squad arrived at the spot and the grenade was defused.

The house is situated barely few kilometres away from Trenz where a suspicious explosion injured 10 people earlier in the day.

Last evening, four security personnel were injured in a grenade attack on a police party in old city of Srinagar.

Officials said militants lobbed a grenade at a police party in Khanyar locality at around 8.45 pm, injuring four security personnel, including an assistant sub inspector of J&K Police.

The injured were shifted to the nearby hospital, where they are reported to be stable. Inspector General of Police (Kashmir), Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani, said the injured include a Central Reserve Police Force man.

“All of them sustained minor splinter injuries and they are stable now,” he said. Soon after the attack, additional security forces were rushed to the area and a search operation was launched to nab the militants.

Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, the group said the intended target of the grenade was CRPF, who have been unleashing a "reign of terror on freedom loving youth" of Srinagar.

"We also warn the J&K Police to mend their ways, else they will also be targeted in future," the statement said.