SRINAGAR, July 9 (2007):  Omar Abdullah, the head of Kashmir’s main opposition party, escaped unhurt on Monday when suspected separatist militants lobbed a grenade as he went inside a colleague’s house, a party official said.

The grenade exploded outside the house of an activist of Abdullah’s pro-India National Conference party, wounding four policemen and a civilian, said party spokesman Nasir Sogami.

“Omar Abdullah is safe,” he said.

Abdullah is the grandson of the state’s first prime minister and son of a former chief minister.

Separatist militants are fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir and have targeted leaders and activists of pro-India political parties in the past.

There has been an increase in violence in the Himalayan region with the onset of summer, when it becomes easier for militants to move about and to cross through the mountain passes from Pakistan.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.

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