Five grenade attacks rock Indian Kashmir in 48 hours

SRINAGAR (BNO NEWS) — At least three civilians were injured on Wednesday in yet another grenade explosion in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. It was the fifth grenade attack in the region since Tuesday.

Suspected militants carried out the grenade attack in a busy marketplace in the town of Bijbehara in south Kashmir, leaving three people injured. According to reports, the attack was apparently aimed at a police vehicle.

The latest attack comes after two grenades exploded in Srinagar in a span of about five minutes, followed by an aborted attempt to target a police party with a grenade in Shopian district. Later, a policeman was shot at in nearby Anantnag district, NDTV reported.

There was another explosion in Srinagar’s Batmaloo area which caused no damage. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for any of these attacks.

Meanwhile, police said two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants carrying grenades were arrested on Tuesday evening. They were allegedly tasked to carry out fresh grenade attacks, the news report said.

The attacks come after the local government decided to revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in some parts of the region. AFSPA gives extraordinary powers and impunity to stationed Indian troops.

A senior leader of the local ruling National Conference party, Mustafa Kamal, on Tuesday said he suspected the Indian army to be behind the attacks. He later retracted his statement after the party went into damage-control mode.

A guerrilla war has been going on in India-administered Kashmir between militants and the Indian troops. Militant groups are usually blamed for attacks, while soldiers have been accused of rights abuses.

The Indian government says more than 45,000 people – including civilians, militants and troops – have died in the region over the past two decades.