Six killed in Kashmir tourist bus blast

Four tourists from Gujarat and two local women were killed in a blast that injured 22 others in a tourist bus in Srinagar, reports Rashid Ahmad.

Four tourists from Gujarat and two local women were killed in a blast that injured 22 others in a tourist bus near Shalimar garden on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar on Sunday. Police believe a gas cylinder had burst inside the bus.

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Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) SM Sahai said the cause of the blast was being investigated.

But a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) spokesman said the blast was triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device fitted “under seat No. 3 of the bus”.

Police said the tourists were guests of a local family at Nawakadal in old Srinagar. They offered afternoon prayers at Hazratbal mosque, lunched there and went to see the Mughal Gardens in a bus.

“As they reached Shalimar, a low-intensity blast took place killing five persons killed and injuring eight others,” said the spokesperson.

He identified the dead as Razia, Rabia, Amina Bi and Moosa Shaikh of village Rajpipla Narbada in Gujarat. Then local woman was identified as Nusrat. He said the 23 injured have been taken to hospital. Sources said one of the injured persons Shazia Bashir, a resident of Budshah Chowk in Srinagar, died in the hospital, raising the toll to six.

Last year, 15 tourists had been killed and over 100 injured in a series of grenade attacks at various places across the valley.