Six pilgrims killed in Kashmir bus attack

Suspected militants opened fire on a bus bringing Hindu pilgrims from a shrine in Kashmir yesterday, killing at least six and wounding 13, police said.

A police spokesman said the bus was carrying more than 50 people on the annual pilgrimage and blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir.

The shooting happened near the southern Anantnag town, on the main highway linking the Indian-controlled Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The attack came despite deployment of thousands of Indian army and paramilitary soldiers on the pilgrimage route.

Muslim rebels fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir accuse India of using the pilgrimage as a political statement to bolster its claim on the region.