At least nine people were injured in a grenade attack in a busy market in the main city of the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, the Associated Press reported, citing local police, as quoted by BTA.
The attack in Srinagar came a day after central government forces in the restive state shot dead three suspected rebels.
Police said an unknown assailant hurled a grenade from an overpass into Srinagar's main business center, where a flea market attended by thousands of people was organized on Sunday. His target was most likely a security vehicle parked nearby. The grenade exploded in the crowd of buyers and sellers, injuring at least nine people. All the injured were taken to hospital.
Police and paramilitary units are currently searching for the attacker.
"There can be no justification for attacks on innocent civilians," wrote on the social network “X“ Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. "The security system must do everything possible to end this wave of attacks as soon as possible so that people can live without fear," Abdullah added.
India and Pakistan rule separate parts of Kashmir, but both countries lay claim to the entire territory. The rival nuclear powers have fought three wars over Kashmir since it gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Since 1989, insurgent groups opposed to Indian rule have been active in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. A large part of the Muslim population in the region supports the insurgents' demand for Kashmir to be united under Pakistani rule or declared an independent state.
India considers the insurgents' actions to be Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies.