Kashmir militants attack tourists

Control of Kashmir is still disputed between India and Pakistan

At least four people have been killed and 22 others wounded in an attack on a tourist hotel in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

Grenades were hurled into the hotel in the popular resort of Pehelgam, south of Srinagar. Most of the victims were visitors from other parts of India.

A little-known separatist group, Al Nasirin, has said it was responsible.

A spokesman for the group told the BBC the attack was a warning to visitors that Kashmir was disputed territory.

Two of the four killed were tourists - one a six-year-old girl - police said. The others were staff at the Purnima hotel.

Thaw

The BBC's Altav Hussein in Srinagar says the death toll may rise, as some of the wounded are in a serious condition.

The incident occurred at a time when the flow of tourists into the valley was picking up fast, our correspondent adds.

The tourist industry has been recovering from a slump due to the armed conflict.

In a separate incident on Saturday, 20 civilians were wounded when a grenade was thrown near an army checkpoint in the border town of Handwara.

The attacks came despite signs of progress in the long-running dispute over Kashmir.

The new government in Delhi has said it will continue peace moves initiated by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.

Senior diplomats from both sides are due to hold talks at the end of June.