Suspected Muslim militants carried out a series of grenade and car bomb attacks in Kashmir on Friday, injuring 15 people on the fourth day of a government cease-fire in the region.
Twelve civilians were injured when unidentified gunmen hurled a grenade at a passing security vehicle in the town of Pattan, 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the Kashmir summer capital Srinagar, police said.
The grenade missed its target and exploded in the crowded street, injuring 12 passers by, including three women.
Meanwhile, two car bombs were detonated in Srinagar's busy Jehangir Chowk area, injuring three people.
Another grenade thrown by suspected militants on a security bunker in downtown Srinagar caused no injuries or damage.
Army and paramilitary forces suspended operations against Muslim militants in Kashmir from midnight November 27, in line with the cease-fire announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The first day of the truce witnessed a militant landmine blast that killed three soldiers and injured a dozen more, and there have been a few minor incidents since then.
Most militant groups have rejected Vajpayee's cease-fire offer as propaganda and threatened to step up violence against the security forces but the level of violence has since ebbed.
It is the first time the Indian government has offered a unilateral cease-fire in Muslim-majority Kashmir since the launch in 1989 of a separatist insurgency that has claimed some 34,000 lives -- SRINAGAR (AFP)
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