The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Srinagar

Nine Indian soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in a landmine blast Saturday in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the army said.

The attack was described as the deadliest since India and Pakistan started a peace process in January 2004.

"We have nine fatalities," Indian army spokeswoman Neha Goel told AFP, adding that over a dozen others were hurt in the explosion in Narabal on the outskirts of Indian Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar.

A police officer confirmed nine had died and 16 others were hurt when their bus drove over the mine.

Pro-Pakistan militant group Hizbul Mujahedin claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the local Current News Service.

"We have carried out the blast and killed more than 20 soldiers," a Hizbul Mujahedin spokesman claimed.

The soldiers were travelling from Uri, bordering Pakistan- administered Kashmir, to the Indian army's main headquarters in Srinagar.

The blast ripped through the military bus, turning it sideways, and shattered the windows of six other vehicles, witnesses said. The dead and injured were taken to the Indian army's main hospital in Srinagar.

Goel said some of the injured were in a "critical condition."

Soldiers and police later sealed off the area and launched searches to track down any militants.