Srinagar: Four persons including a nine-year old girl were injured today (Dec 24, 2003), when militants exploded a grenade in a busy market area in the heart of the city.

Militants hurled the grenade on a moving vehicle of security personnel in Jehangir Chowk area around 16.00 hrs (IST), but it missed the target and exploded on the road injuring four pedestrians, official sources said.

Nine-year-old Zarak Mehraj, Ghulam Nabi, Mohammad Rafiq and Abdul Rashid were injured in the blast, which triggered panic in the area.

They were taken to hospital where their condition was stated to be stable, the sources said.

The grenade attack was the third in as many days in the state. Yesterday, six civilians and a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan were injured in a blast in Bandipora. On Monday, militants exploded a grenade at Kulgam bus stand injuring 11 persons.