SRINAGAR: At least one person was killed and 17 wounded on Monday in a grenade blast at a crowded market in Indian-held Kashmir’s main city Srinagar, police and doctors said.

Srinagar police chief Haseeb Mughal said that 18 people were injured out of whom one died at the hospital. “Two people are critical,” a doctor said.

The slain was identified as a street vendor from India’s Uttar Pradesh state. Police blamed the attack on insurgents fighting Indian rule.

“The attack, targeting roadside vendors, was carried out to discourage people from returning to normal life,” said Mughal.

The medics at the main hospital in Srinagar said they received 25 wounded.

Two doctors said two of the injured were brought to the hospital in critical condition with head injuries and were being operated on.

In recent weeks, at least 10 non-local laborers and truck drivers have been killed by gunmen in separate incidents. Police have blamed militants for the killings.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2019