Nine people, including women and children, were killed when an Indian army bus hit a landmine Saturday, in the second major attack in as many days by Islamic rebels fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
The soldiers' convoy ran over the landmine at Lower Munda, about 100 kilometers south of the summer capital, Srinagar, on the main highway to the winter capital, Jammu.
Five soldiers were killed along with two women and two children who were relatives of the troops on the bus, an army spokesman said.
"Their bus hit a landmine and then tumbled down the mountain into a stream," said a policeman. Most of the 18 injured were soldiers. They were airlifted to Srinagar's military hospital, where several were in critical condition.
The blast came a day after rebels stormed a hotel serving as a police camp in central Srinagar, leaving six policemen and two militants dead.
The attack today was the single deadliest since reformist Mr ufti Mohammed Sayeed was sworn in as the troubled state's leader November 2nd.
AFP