12 Indian military troopers wounded in blast in Indian-controlled Kashmir

At least 12 Indian military troopers were wounded some of them critically Saturday in a blast inside a cantonment in Indian- controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The blast took place inside military's pre-induction training school at Khrew village, near Pampore town, about 30 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Today in the morning at Core Battle School (CBS) in Khrew, a blast took place that wounded 12 of our soldiers," Srinagar based Indian military spokesman Col N N Josh told Xinhua. "All the wounded have been hospitalized."

Reports said the wounded troopers including some critical ones were immediately airlifted to military's base hospital in Srinagar for specialized treatment.

Police officials told local media the blast was "accidental" in nature and occurred due to mishandling during the training session.

However, the cause of the blast according to Joshi was being ascertained."It's only the matter of investigation to ascertain how the blast took place," Joshi said.

Indian-controlled Kashmir is considered as one of the highest militarized regions in the world.

A guerilla war has been going on between militants and the Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Gunfight between militants and stationed Indian troops takes place intermittently. Endi