Tuesday, July 11 2006 16:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Six persons, including five tourists from West Bengal, were killed and 16 others injured in a series of grenade attacks by militants in different parts of the city today, officials said.

"Ultras hurled a grenade at a vehicle carrying tourists near Sultan Bakery at Dal Gate around 11.50 hours, killing five persons, including three women, and injuring 12 others," they said.

All the dead were from Kolkata while nine of the injured were also from West Bengal. Two injured were residents of Dal Gate while another person wounded was from Udhampur, the officials said.

This was the sixth attack on tourists in the Kashmir valley since the beginning of the tourist season this year.

In separate attacks carried out by ultras within minutes of each other in Lal Chowk area of the city, one person was killed and four others were injured.

Sources said two explosions took place one at Lal Chowk and another at Abi Guzar. One of the grenades hit a Tata Sumo vehicle in which the casualties took place. The vehicle caught fire near the Clock Tower around 1330 hours, the officials said.

Top police and security officials including Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) S M Sahai rushed to the Dal Gate area to take stock of the situation.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a Maruti car exploded at Residency Road in Regal Chowk area, injuring two persons.

Officials said it was not immediately clear whether a grenade attack or some malfunction in the car caused the explosion. The vehicle, bearing a Haryana registration number, caught fire after the explosion.