J&K: Grenade blast in Srinagar’s ‘Sunday market’ injures 11; search for attackers underway

At least 11 people sustained injuries after terrorists threw a grenade at a flea market close to the Tourist Reception Centre in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday (Nov 3).

The explosion occurred amidst a large crowd of shoppers who had gathered for the weekly ‘Sunday market’. Security personnel and medical teams promptly arrived at the scene, providing assistance to the injured, who were taken to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. A search operation is now underway to locate the attackers.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, expressed alarm over the attack, labelling it as “deeply disturbing”. Commenting on the incident, he said, “The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the valley. Today’s news of a grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the ‘Sunday market’ in Srinagar is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians.”

CM Abdullah called on security forces to take every measure necessary to stop this rise in attacks quickly. “The security apparatus must do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear,” he added in a post on X.

This incident follows the elimination of a Pakistani senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group by the security forces in Srinagar’s Khanyar area just a day before, as reported by news agency PTI.

Vidhi Kumar Birdi, Inspector General of Police for Kashmir, told ANI, “Now this operation has been completed. Security forces have killed a terrorist, who has been identified as Usman…, he was the commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and 4 security personnel have been injured. He is a foreign terrorist.”

(With inputs from agencies)