In brief: Blast wounds 9 in Kashmir mosque

SRINAGAR, India – An explosion outside a mosque prayer hall early Thursday wounded nine worshippers in the insurgency-wracked Indian portion of Kashmir, police said.

The blast occurred after early morning prayer in Trenz, a village 40 miles south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-held Kashmir, said police officer Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani.

Abdul Gani Dar, a wounded 75-year-old, said a tumbler lying in the mosque complex blew up as a caretaker picked it up while people were leaving the area.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Self-immolation at Japan protest

SEOUL, South Korea – An 80-year-old South Korean man was in life-threatening condition today after setting himself on fire during an anti-Japan protest in Seoul, hospital officials said.

The rally Wednesday, attended by hundreds and held in front of the Japanese Embassy, was staged ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II on Saturday.

Choi Hyeon-yeol was on a breathing machine.