Nine army jawans were killed and 28 others, including 24 soldiers, injured in a car bomb blast near the famous Nishat Garden on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar [Images] on Friday.

The blast, caused by an improvised explosive device planted in a car parked on the main road near the Nishat police station, took place around 4 pm when an army convoy was passing by, official sources said.

A private bus in the convoy bore the brunt of the blast. It was thrown several metres away by the blast's impact, the sources added.

The bus was hired by the army and was carrying soldiers to their unit at Mansbal, a health resort 34 km from Srinagar.
 
Pro-Pakistan militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen [Images] has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

A caller introducing himself as a spokesman of the outfit told news organisations in Srinagar that the explosives-laden vehicle was parked at the site minutes before the army convoy was to pass by.

The injured troopers were taken to the army base hospital in the Badami Bagh cantonment.