Five blasts rock Srinagar, 6 killed

Five bomb explosions rocked Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar on Tuesday, killing six people and injuring 38.

Five tourists from West Bengal were killed and 12 injured when militants lobbed a hand grenade at a minibus at Dalgate area in uptown Srinagar. Three tourists were killed on the spot while two succumbed to injuries later in the hospital.

The injured were taken to the SMHS hospital. Among the dead are three women. Attending doctors described the condition of two of the injured tourists as critical.

On May 31, two buses carrying tourists from Kolkata were attacked at the same spot, which is known as the hub of tourist activity. One tourist was killed and 18 others were wounded in the explosions.

Militants then struck in the Regal Chowk area. Six people were injured when militants hurled a hand grenade on a Maruti car, police said. The car was extensively damaged in the attack.

In the afternoon, militants lobbed a hand grenade at a passing vehicle in city centre Lal Chowk, injuring five persons. Police said, a labourer, hailing from Bihar, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Minutes later, another grenade explosion resulted in injuries to five persons in the adjacent Abi-Guzar area.

The last explosion was triggered off near the tourist reception centre in uptown Srinagar late this afternoon. Ten people -- seven from Jammu, two locals and a tourist from West Bengal -- were injured in the attack. In a rare instance, passers-by caught a suspected militant and handed him over to police soon after he lobbed a grenade on a vehicle near the tourist reception centre, officials said.

Mohammad Afzal, a resident of Nesbal in Baramulla district, was handed over to a police party that was patrolling the area, officials said, adding that he was later taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the injured have been shifted to the nearby SMHS hospital, police said, adding that so far, no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Additional police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Srinagar and all passing vehicles are being searched.