Four policemen and two civilians were injured Friday in Indian Kashmir in a grenade attack by suspected Muslim militants, minutes after protesters and police clashed.
The grenade was hurled at a group of local police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in downtown Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, shortly after they had chased away a group of anti-India protesters.
"Three CRPF men and a local policeman were injured in the attack," CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi told reporters, adding two civilians were also hurt.
Witnesses said the attack took place after protesters chanting "we want freedom" and "Allah is great" clashed with police.
It also came after the region's leading separatist, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, led thousands of Kashmiris through the streets of central Srinagar during an anti-India rally, witnesses said.
Security officials have warned of a possible escalation in violence after the Indian military said last month 400 militants were poised to cross into Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani zone of the disputed Himalayan region.
Five soldiers and 14 militants have died in violence in Kashmir over the past week.
The insurgency against Indian rule has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count since it erupted in 1989.
Violence dropped after India and Pakistan launched a peace process in 2004 but since the start of 2010 rebel attacks have escalated.
Copyright 2010 AFP South Asian Edition
