SRINAGAR, Sept 22: The chief minister of held Kashmir escaped a bid on his life on Wednesday when separatist rebels fired grenades at a government building where he was filing his papers to contest a by-election, police said.

Mufti Mohammad Syed was unhurt after the incident, police said, the second attempt on his life this year by freedom fighters. Five people were wounded after unidentified men fired three grenades from a rifle at the heavily guarded district administrator's office in Anantnag town, about 55km south of Srinagar.

The explosions occurred minutes after Mr Syed entered the building, a police officer in Anantnag said by phone. "The chief minister filed his papers and was escorted out safely," he said.

Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, a hardline Kashmiri rebel group, called newspaper offices in Srinagar and claimed responsibility for the attack. The same group said it tried to kill Syed in February by firing grenades at a public meeting he was attending. -Reuters