SRINAGAR, India, July 24 (UPI) -- A grenade attack by suspected militants Thursday in Srinagar city in the Indian side of Kashmir killed five people, including three children.

The explosion at a bus terminal injured 18 others, the Press Trust of India reported.

The report, quoting official sources, said the attackers tossed the grenade on a bus at the terminal when a group of outside laborers were boarding the vehicle.

The BBC quoted police as saying while all those killed were civilians ans that the attack was directed against paramilitary troops in the area.

However, a local Muslim car mechanic said Hindu pilgrims to the mountain cave shrine of Amarnath may also have been the targets. Among those injured were 12 Hindu pilgrims, the report said.

After months of relative calm since India and Pakistan signed a cease-fire in 2003, violence has escalated in Kashmir in recent weeks.