The strike, called by Jamiat-ul-Mujahedeen, closed down the main commercial hub of Lal Chowk and educational institutions, witnesses said.

Officials said there was thin attendance in government offices, but traffic was almost normal. Commercial activities in other major towns were also affected, witnesses said.

“The group appeals to Kashmiris to observe a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday against US aggression on Iraq,” Jamiat’s deputy chief Malik Tahir Nawaz told local news agency Current News Service (CNS).

Meanwhile, police in Srinagar detained a senior separatist leader Javed Mir and leading human rights activist Ahsan Untoo for leading a small demonstration protesting against alleged human rights violations by government troops.

They and four other supporters were taken to Srinagar’s Kothi Bagh police station.

Also in Srinagar, the leader of Indian Kashmir pledged to restore a sense of security among the region’s Hindus following the latest massacre but the promise has been met with skepticism by Kashmiri Hindus.

“The state government will take measures to restore a sense of security among Kashmiri Hindus in the wake of Nadi Marg massacre,” Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said in a reference to the killing of 24 Hindu villagers.

Eleven men, 11 women and two small boys were lined up and shot dead by gunmen in the south Kashmir village of Nadi Marg on Sunday, sending shock waves through the Hindu community and drawing international condemnation.

“The Kashmir police will be fully geared up to meet the challenge of militancy in a more effective manner,” Sayeed said in the overnight statement.

He added that he has convened a high-level security meeting in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir’s summer capital, to take a fresh look at security issues, but did not say when it would take place.

Special focus, he said, would be placed on increasing protection for about 270 residential pockets populated by Hindu groups.

Many Hindus had already left Kashmir following previous killings, but some 10,000 Hindus and nearly 35,000 Sikhs remain in these small communities, which are guarded by local police.

Sayeed admitted there had been a security lapse in Nadi Marg, “where not even a single policeman retaliated.

“Even the army presence about one-and-a-half km away from the site of the carnage could not prevent the incident nor could give immediate response. The inadequate response of the police and security forces is indeed a matter of concern.”

Sayeed said the massacre was aimed at derailing the peace process in Kashmir and urged political parties to go from village to village to mobilize public opinion against the “merchants of death.”

Hindus still in the Kashmir Valley said such assurances in the past had not prevented further killings.

“After every such massacre we are assured of foolproof security by the government, but that has never happened,” said Shadi Lal, a 38-year-old government employee living in Mattan, 60 km south of Srinagar.

“Most of the Hindus living in this village have decided to leave,” he said, adding the village temple had already been closed.

Lal said the government should make arrangements for their safe journey to Jammu, the Hindu-dominated winter capital. Shyam Lal, 65, said the entire community was in fear after the massacre. “We will abide by the collective decision of the community whether to stay or leave,” he said, conceding that the “majority want to migrate.”

“Every carnage brings us a message that we are not safe here,” added Mohan Lal Chicko of the same village. The opposition National Conference (NC) party demanded a high-level probe into the massacre, which it blamed on negligence by the state government. “The inquiry would expose the negligence of the district administration,” said NC chief Omar Abdullah, adding that Hindus in Nadi Marg had asked for extra security a few days before the killings.