According to the authorities, no less than nine soldiers have been killed and more than 20 others injured in a blast in Kashmir.

Saturday an army convoy was heading to Srinagar, Kashmir, when a military bus that was carrying troops drove over a land mine along in a Narbal highway, said the police. Some of the injured people are said to be in critical condition. The explosion ripped through the vehicle, this attack against Indian combatants being the most serious over the past years.

Authorities claimed the fact that in the past 18 years up to 43,000 people have died in violence. However, several nongovernmental organizations and groups fighting for the protection of human rights said the death toll was twice that. Hizbul Mujahedin, a Pakistan-based Islamic militant group, wants to find the ones to be blamed for the attack.

At least 30 persons were injured in a grenade attack in close proximity to a bus stop in Srinagar on Friday. More than a few children were among the wounded ones, police said.

Despite the fact that police blamed separatist rebels, no one claimed responsibility.

Since 1989, Islamic separatist groups have been fighting for Kashmir gaining its independence from India or its unification with Pakistan.

The Himalayan area is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both countries. Tens of thousands of people have died in rebellion-related violence.