SRINAGAR, India — Suspected Islamic militants exploded a car bomb near the entrance to the state legislature in Jammu-Kashmir on Monday, then opened fire on security forces. At least 25 people were killed and 75 others wounded.
Most of the legislators had left before the blast in the volatile northern Indian state's summer capital, police said.
A gunbattle continued inside the building five hours after the explosion, which shattered windows of a nearby hotel and more than two dozen shops.
About 30 people were rescued, but about 30 employees of the legislature remained inside the building, police said. It was not known if any were being held hostage.
A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press in Srinagar.
For the past 12 years, more than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting in Jammu-Kashmir state for independence from India or a merger with neighboring Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people have died.
According to police, Monday's attack began when the suspected rebels seized a sport utility vehicle, which belonged to the federal telecommunications department, and released the drive.
They then drove the vehicle to the assembly building, and at least three suspected rebels in police uniforms got out. The vehicle then exploded.
In the chaos that followed, the rebels entered the assembly building, firing their guns and throwing hand grenades at security forces, said R.K. Jala, the superintendent of police.
At least a dozen bodies lay on the street outside the building, and police said a total of 25 people were killed and 75 wounded. Sixty-one of the wounded were hospitalized in Srinagar, police said.
Pakistan openly supports the Kashmiri militants but denies India's claim that it arms and trains the rebels, including some Afghan fighters loyal to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia.
That has raised concerns about what will happen in Kashmir now that U.S. forces are preparing a possible attack on Afghanistan in an effort to capture accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
The Taliban are protecting bin Laden, the top suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon.