A senior minister in the local government of India's Jammu and Kashmir state was targeted in a grenade attack by Muslim militants which injured 14 others Wednesday, police said.
Public Works Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar was visiting Arwani, 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Indian Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, when the attack took place, according to police officials.
Sagar was getting into his bullet proof car after inaugurating a bridge when suspected Muslim militants lobbed grenades in his direction.
The minister's bodyguards and two police officials were among those injured.
Meanwhile,, a suspected militant was killed by the Indian army in Bandipora, 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of Srinagar on Wednesday.
The incident took place when a group of separatist rebels ambushed an army patrol. The militant was killed by retaliatory fire from the soldiers.
Security forces cordoned off the area and a search was underway to track down the militants who had escaped.
According to intelligence reports, Muslim militants are likely to step up their operations in the coming days to sabotage a nascent peace process in Kashmir, set in motion by India's unilateral cease-fire to mark Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month.
"We do expect some trouble," Kashmir's newly appointed police chief A.K. Suri said, adding that the militants could target "vital installations" in the state.
Under the unilateral cease-fire offer by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Indian security forces suspended operations against Muslim militant groups in Kashmir on November 27.
Most militant outfits rejected the initiative as a propaganda ploy and have continued their attacks on the security forces and other targets -- SRINAGAR (AFP)
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