Srinagar, India - Fifteen Hindu devotees, most of them priests, were wounded yesterday when suspected militants hurled a grenade at a religious pilgrimage in Indian Kashmir, police said.
It was the second such attack in four days on pilgrims making their way to a sacred ice form high in the Himalayas and came despite heavy security to guard against rebel raids.
The 15 were injured when a grenade was hurled at a community kitchen set up to feed the pilgrims in Pahalgam, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of summer capital Srinagar, police said.
"The attack on pilgrims in Pahalgam has left 15 people wounded, most of them Hindu priests," a police official said, blaming the attack on militants.
"The pilgrims were gathering at the community kitchen to have lunch when the grenade was thrown at them," he said.
Pahalgam, a favourite picnic spot and an important resting point on the trail to a revered cave shrine high in the Himalayas, was bustling with activity when the grenade exploded, witnesses said.
"The blast sparked panic. Everyone ran helter-skelter," tourism official Kirmani told AFP by telephone from Pahalgam.
All of the wounded were reported out of danger. The attack came despite a pledge not to target the pilgrimage by Hizbul Mujahedeen, the most powerful militant group fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir.
On Tuesday, a shopkeeper was killed and 15 people injured when suspected rebels lobbed a grenade at a pilgrimage base camp in Baltal, 80 kilometres northeast of Srinagar.
The pilgrimage attack came a day after Srinagar was rocked by four grenade blasts which caused panic but only one injury.
Thousands of security forces are deployed along the mountain tracks to protect the pilgrims, who have been targeted in the past by militants.
At least 32 pilgrims were killed in attacks by suspected militants in 2000 and 10 more died the following year. Last year one pilgrim was killed and 25 hurt in attacks.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly two-decade insurgency that has left more than 42,000 people dead, according to official figures.
Immediately after yesterday's blast, a large portion of Pahalgam was sealed off and security forces launched a massive search for the attackers