Thread: 12 dead, 100 injured in Pulwama blast

12 dead, 100 injured in Pulwama blast
http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jun/13kash1.htm

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar | June 13, 2005 13:05 IST
Last Updated: June 13, 2005 15:49 IST


Twelve people, nine civilians and three security personnel, were killed and over 100 injured, several of them seriously, in a massive blast in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday morning.

A senior police officer said the blast took place in a Maruti car parked near the town's post office. He added that it was possibly triggered by a remote-controlled device.

The blast was so strong that an adjacent school building suffered extensive damage.

As angry protests erupted immediately after the blast, police opened fire in the air to disperse the crowd.

Some of those seriously injured have been rushed to the SHMS hospital in Srinagar.

"There was confusion all around. Residents of the town were frantically looking for their relatives and because of the heavy rush all the phone links in the district headquarters were jammed. The sound of the explosion was heard as far as 5 km away," an eyewitness said.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Javaid Mukhdoomi and South Kashmir Police Chief Sheikh Owais have reached Pulwama to supervise relief operations.