Indian-run Kashmir鈥檚 chief minister on Sunday condemned a 鈥榙eeply disturbing鈥� grenade attack on a busy market in the main city of Srinagar, which police and media reported left several wounded.
鈥楢 grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the 鈥楽unday market鈥� in Srinagar is deeply disturbing,鈥� Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said in a statement.
鈥楾here can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians鈥�.
Abdullah did not say how many were wounded, but a senior police officer, who was not authorised to speak to journalists, said nine people were wounded, all civilians.
The Press Trust of India showed dozens of armed police and soldiers cordoning off the area in the Himalayan city.
The Hindustan Times quoted Tasneem Showkat, a doctor at Srinagar鈥檚 SMHS Hospital, as saying at least eight injured had been taken for treatment.
鈥楾he injured include eight men and one woman,鈥� Showkat said, the newspaper reported. 鈥楢ll are so far stable鈥�.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is home to a long-running insurgency.
At least 5,00,000 Indian troops are deployed in Kashmir, battling an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels since 1989.
The grenade attack comes a day after Indian troops killed three suspected militants in two separate firefights.
In October, gunmen ambushed an army vehicle and killed five people, including three soldiers.
That came a week after seven people were shot dead near a construction site for a strategic road tunnel to Ladakh, a high-altitude Himalayan region bordering China.
New Delhi regularly blames Pakistan for arming militants and helping them launch attacks, an allegation Islamabad denies.
鈥楾he 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,鈥� Abdullah added.