Twelve civilians, including two women and four teenagers, were injured in a grenade attack at the crowded Sunday Market near the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in Srinagar. The injured were mostly shoppers.

The incident comes a day after an encounter in Srinagar’s Khanyar area, during which a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, identified by the police as Usman Lashkari, was killed.

Shortly after Sunday’s explosion, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to top security officials, including Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, and called for an “effective and forceful” response.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged “the security apparatus” to “do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks”.

Police sources said that on Sunday afternoon, a grenade was hurled towards Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel near the TRC on Residency Road. It missed the target and hit a street vendor’s cart, injuring 12 shoppers, sources said.

The injured were rushed to a hospital for treatment. Doctors said all of them have splinter injuries. One of the injured women is in a critical condition while the others are stable.