10 killed and 20 injured after Kashmir separatists plant bomb in market

A car-bomb ripped through a crowded market place in northern India's Kashmir state yesterday, killing nine policemen and one photographer and wounding at least 20 others, several of them seriously.

Kashmir's largest insurgent group, the Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahedeen (People's Army) which withdrew its ceasefire earlier this week and called off peace talks with the Indian government, has claimed responsibility. It said it was reminding India of its "military strength".

"With our ceasefire we showed the Indians that we can be peace-loving, but with this bombing we have now shown them that we can also be strong fighters," Mr Salim Hashmi, a spokesman for the group said in Pakistan.

The improvised explosive device ripped through the main shopping area in Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, after a smaller decoy explosion attracted journalists to the blast site 10 minutes earlier.

Policemen and paramilitary personnel, as well as television film crews including CNN staff and local news photographers, were among those hit when the second bomb exploded in the crowded Lal Chowk area. A photographer for the Delhi-based Hindustan Times was killed.

"The militants seemed to have called off their amnesty towards journalists as they have never targeted them in this manner in over five years," a reporter for the Indian Express said. By killing journalists they would not only be assured of publicity but would also relay the message that they expected them to toe their line, he added.

Security officials expect the militants to step up attacks in the run up to Indian independence day celebrations next Tuesday.

The Hizbul Mujahedeen called off its ceasefire on Tuesday after India refused to involve Pakistan in negotiations to bring peace to Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan - which occupied a third of Kashmir after independence 53 years ago and lays claim to the rest of the Muslim-majority state - of sponsoring insurgency in the state.

Pakistan denies this, saying it only provides Kashmiri militants moral, diplomatic and political support. More than 30,000 people have died in Kashmir's 11-year long insurgency.