A powerful hand grenade blast in a north Kashmir town market wounded 22 persons, some of them seriously, late Thursday evening.

Police said militants carried out a powerful hand grenade explosion in Hajin town, 45 kms north of Srinagar [Images] late Thursday evening.

"The injured persons, all of them local residents, were shifted for treatment to the Hajin hospital, where 15 persons were referred to capital Srinagar for specialised treatment as their condition was described by local doctors as serious," a senior police officer said.

The blast site was surrounded and searched by troops of Rashtriya Rifles and police, but no arrests made so far. No group has yet owned responsibility for the blast.