SRINAGAR, July 24 (2008): Five people, including two children and a woman, were killed on Thursday when suspected Muslim separatist militants threw a grenade at a crowded bus terminal in Indian Kashmir's main city, police said. Another 22 civilians were wounded in the attack in the Batamaloo bus terminal in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. "It exploded with a powerful sound and we left our shops and ran for cover," said Mohammad Rajab, a witness. Rebel violence has flared across the...

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (2008): Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged fire on Thursday across the de-facto border dividing the disputed region of Kashmir, a Pakistani military spokesman said, but he said there were no casualties on the Pakistani side. There have been a spate of minor violations of a ceasefire in in recent months. Firing across the so-called Line of Control used to be commonplace in bygone years, but became more rare after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in late 2003 prior to beginning a peace...

SRINAGAR, July 18 (2008): At least 30 people, including 10 children, were wounded on Friday when suspected separatist militants lobbed a grenade near a crowded bus stop in Indian Kashmir, police said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the grenade attack, aimed at a security patrol in Banihal town, 110 km (68 miles) south of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital. "The injured included some security personnel and school going children," a police official said. On Thursday, a villager was killed and his...

SRINAGAR, July 11 (2008):New Delhi imposed federal rule in Kashmir on Friday after the state government fell over a controversial transfer of land to a Amarnath  shrine trust that sparked days of rioting in the Muslim-dominated region. The government land move sparked some of the biggest protests from Muslims last month since a separatist movement broke out in the region in 1989. At least six people were killed in the protests and hundreds injured. An official statement said the state governor had dissolved the...

SRINAGAR, July 7 (2008): The top elected leader of Indian Kashmir resigned on Monday after a key ally withdrew support for his government over a controversial transfer of land to a Hindu shrine trust. The government land move sparked some of the biggest protests from Muslims since a separatist movement broke out in the region about two decades ago. At least six people were killed. "I am going to governor's office to resign," Ghulam Nabi Azad, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state and a member of the ruling...

BHOPAL, July 3 (2008): A scattered strike over the transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine turned violent in central India on Thursday, with four people killed and dozens injured in religious clashes, police said. Strike supporters shut down transport and businesses in several Indian states, as protesters blocked roads, smashed vehicles and stopped trains. They were protesting against the government of Indian Kashmir for reversing a decision to transfer forest land to a shrine trust in the Muslim-majority part of...

SRINAGAR, July 1 (2008): Government placed several Kashmiri separatist leaders under house arrest on Tuesday to stop them from protesting against a decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust, a move that has sparked violence. In one of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in Kashmir in 1989, angry Muslims had shut down the region and at least four people were shot dead by police in demonstrations that started last week. They were protesting against a government decision to hand over...

JAMMU, July 2 (2008): Authorities in Indian Kashmir imposed an indefinite curfew in its winter capital city of Jammu on Wednesday, following violent clashes over transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine. Hindus in Jammu, where they are a majority, have been protesting against the government for backing down from a decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust in the Muslim-majority part of Kashmir. India's main opposition, the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also called a nationwide...

SRINAGAR, July 2 (2008): An army officer and 11 separatist guerrillas were killed in a fierce gun battle in Indian Kashmir, an army spokesman said on Wednesday. It was the highest number of people killed in a single firefight between separatist militants and Indian troops in the Himalayan region this year. "The operation is still continuing and we think more terrorists are hiding in the forest," Umamaheswar, an Indian Army spokesman who goes by one name said. An army officer was among the 12 killed, he said. "We...