Srinagar: A day after a foreign militant was gunned down by security forces in the summer capital Srinagar, at least a dozen civilians were injured in a grenade blast on Sunday (November 2) near the busy Tourism Reception Centre (TRC).
The attack in Srinagar is the sixth of its kind wherein civilians seemed to be the intended targets after the elected government of the Union territory was recently sworn into office. Chief minister Omar Abdullah urged the “security apparatus” of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under the Union home ministry, to put an end to these attacks.
Unknown persons hurled grenade on innocent shoppers
“The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks & encounters in parts of the valley. Today’s news of a grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the ‘Sunday market’ in Srinagar is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians. The security apparatus must do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear,” Abdullah posted on X, formerly Twitter.
According to reports, unknown persons hurled a grenade outside a playground near TRC Srinagar at around 2:15 pm when the area, which falls around one kilometre from the clock tower in the city centre Lal Chowk, was thronged by hundreds of shoppers and sightseers.
On Sunday, Lal Chowk and its arterial roads host the weekly flea market which is visited both by tourists as well as locals who often come along with their families from all parts of Kashmir.
Witnesses said that the impact of the blast triggered panic in the busy area as the pedestrians started running for cover while security forces arrived at the spot and cordoned off the perimeter of the blast site. With the help of locals, the victims were evacuated for medical treatment.
Security personnel and vehicles at the site of the blast. Photo: Faizan Mir
Some of the injured have been identified as Sumaiya Jan, Umer Farooq, Ghulam Muhammad Sofi, Azaan Kaloo, Misba, Habibullah Rather, Altaf Ahmad Seer, Faizal Ahmad, Faizan Mushtaq and Zahid.
An official said that the injured were taken to the Sri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar, “Among the injured, two are females. They are all stable,” Dr Tasneem Showkat, medical superintendent of SMHS Hospital told The Wire.
Witnesses said that a search operation was launched in the area by a joint team of security forces which was underway when this report was filed. A forensics team has also arrived to collect samples from the site of the explosion.
The grenade attack comes a day after three militants, including a suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba commander, were gunned down while four security personnel, including two J&K Police personnel, were injured in two gun battles in Kashmir.
Among the three militants, two were killed by security forces in an encounter in Anantnag district of south Kashmir.
Inspector General of Police (Kashmir), V K Birdi, identified the LeT commander who was killed in Srinagar on Saturday as Usman Bhai. According to police, he was involved in a number of attacks on civilians and security forces, including the killing of a J&K Police inspector.
The TRC incident took place in the aftermath of a series of attacks and encounters in Jammu and Kashmir after the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government was sworn into office last month.
Militant activities continue, 18 people were killed last month
On November 1, two migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district suffered firearm injuries when suspected militants fired at them in the Magam area of Budgam district in the fifth targeted attack on non-locals post assembly election.
After Jammu and Kashmir got its first elected government in more than six years, there has been a spurt in militant activities with 18 civilians, security personnel and militants killed in the month of October alone in targeted attacks and anti-insurgency operations.
These incidents have been reported from south, central and north Kashmir as well as from the Jammu division, indicating the widespread presence of militants in the Union territory.
On October 29, three suspected militants were gunned down in an anti-insurgency operation in the Akhnoor district of J&K after they unsuccessfully tried to ambush an army ambulance in the Khour sector along the Line of Control.
An army dog identified as Phantom was also injured in the encounter, which lasted for more than 12 hours. The canine later succumbed to its injuries.
On October 24, two army soldiers and two civilian porters were gunned down when suspected militants ambushed an army truck in the north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg in one of the deadliest attacks on security forces since the Abdullah-led government came to office.
Three more soldiers were wounded in the attack.
Earlier, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh was shot and injured in the Awantipora police district of south Kashmir on October 23. Shubham Kumar, a resident of Bijnor district, survived with minor injuries.
On October 20, a Kashmiri doctor and six workers were killed when two suspected militants surfaced inside the base camp of Apco Infra Ltd in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and fired indiscriminately.
