SRINAGAR, July 26: Suspected Muslim militants killed eight people, three by beheading, and injured 30 others, while Indian troops gunned down five militants in Indian Kashmir, police said on Monday.

One of the civilian deaths was caused when suspected militants tossed a grenade at paramilitary troops near the main hospital in Baramulla town, 55 kilometers (35 miles) north of Srinagar, police said.

"The grenade exploded among the paramilitary men and civilian patients and attendants," a police spokesman said, adding that 30 people were injured in the blast. "The hospital was abuzz with activity when the explosion took place," the spokesman said, adding two of the injured were with India's Border Security Force.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. The region's dominant rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen this month criticized attacks by militants in crowded places and urged other groups to refrain from such actions.

Meanwhile, armed militants barged into the house of a man named Mohammed Shafi in southern Rajouri district and beheaded him, police said. His son and daughter were also beheaded minutes after his killing. Police believe the three were killed on suspicion of working for Indian troops. -AFP