Babagounj
Strength through joy
SRINAGAR, India—An improvised explosive device detonated outside a mosque in Srinagar, the capital of India’s portion of the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, killing Maulana Showkat Ahmad Shah, a Muslim cleric, just before he delivered weekly Friday prayers.
The explosive may have been tied to a bicycle parked at the back entrance of the mosque, said Kashmir’s inspector general of police, S.M. Sahai. One other person was injured in the attack. No-one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast.
Mr. Shah was head of the Jamiat-e-Ahli-Hadith religious organization and a moderate Kashmiri separatist who favored negotiations with India over violence. He had previously cited the Quran to oppose the throwing of stones against Indian security forces by separatist protesters.
The explosive may have been tied to a bicycle parked at the back entrance of the mosque, said Kashmir’s inspector general of police, S.M. Sahai. One other person was injured in the attack. No-one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast.
Mr. Shah was head of the Jamiat-e-Ahli-Hadith religious organization and a moderate Kashmiri separatist who favored negotiations with India over violence. He had previously cited the Quran to oppose the throwing of stones against Indian security forces by separatist protesters.