Land Mine, Clashes Kill 22 in Kashmir
A land mine blast and clashes left 22 people dead in the Indian-held portion of Kashmir on Saturday, the bloodiest day since a new state government took office this month calling for an end to the violence.
The land mine, planted by suspected separatist militants, blew up when a bus and a truck passed over it on a busy road about 45 miles south of Srinagar, a local police official said on condition of anonymity. Both vehicles plunged 30 feet into a gully. Twelve people, including six soldiers, were killed and 23 injured, authorities said.
Police said 10 people died in clashes across the region, which is at the heart of a dispute between India and Pakistan.
Two militant groups, Jamayet-ul-Moujahedeen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami, claimed responsibility for the explosion in messages to the Kashmiri news agency. A third group, Hezb-ul-Moujahedeen, told Associated Press that it had carried out the attack.
Guerrilla groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan since late 1989. The violence has killed about 60,000 people.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Syed, who was sworn in Nov. 2, says he favors peace talks and has moved to free political prisoners. But the violence has raged unabated in Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state in Hindu-dominated India.
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