Bomb Injures Kashmiri Journalists

A parcel bomb exploded Thursday in the office of the British Broadcasting Corp. and the Reuters news agency, wounding three people.

The package was delivered by an unidentified woman dressed head-to-toe in a gown worn by devout Muslim women, witnesses said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The package was sent to Yusuf Jameel, a reporter for the BBC, Reuters and the Indian daily, The Asian Age. He was wounded, along with cameraman Mushtaq Ali and photographer Habibulla Naqash, the news companies reported.

Like most Kashmiri journalists, Jameel has received threats from Kashmiri separatists and lives under the intimidating scrutiny of Indian authorities. His office has been open to the many correspondents visiting Srinagar to cover the 2-month-long crisis involving Western hostages.

Al-Faran militants are holding four tourists - Donald Hutchings of Spokane, Paul Wells and Keith Magan of Britain, and Dirk Hasert of Germany - since seizing them in the Himalayan mountains in early July. A fifth tourist was beheaded.

Al-Faran is demanding the release of 15 jailed guerrillas, but India has refused. Fears for the hostages’ safety have increased since contact between the militants and the Indian government broke off Monday.

Kashmiri militants have been fighting for independence since 1989.