Condemning the attack on a bus carrying tourists that left four persons dead, the Hizbul Mujahideen group on Sunday said the strike was part of a "conspiracy" to defame terrorists.
"The attack on tourists is part of a conspiracy to defame mujahideen who have nothing to do with the incident," Hizbul Mujahideen spokesman Junaid-ul-Islam said in a statement to a news agency.
Four teenagers from Gujarat were killed and six others injured when terrorists exploded a grenade inside a bus at Batapora locality of Zakoora on Thursday.
"It (the attack) was staged to downplay the successful strikes of the terrorists in the past few days," Islam said.
He also condemned troops for allegedly harassing members of the minority Pandit community in Islamabad and Pulwama last week.
He said Kashmiri Muslims have maintained communal harmony by supporting the protest by Pandits.
On Thursday, residents of Seer Hamdan in south Kashmir's Anantnag district took to the streets after local Pandits accused the Army of harassing them.