Explosion in northern Kosovo kills one, injures 11 others

PRISTINA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Ethnic tensions returned to northern Kosovo on Friday as a peaceful protest by Serbians in Mitrovica ended with an explosion that killed one person and injured 11 others.

Besim Hoti, a Kosovo police spokesman, said an explosion and shots were heard as about 1,000 Serbs protested the opening of a civil registry office run by Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian authorities in the Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica.

Hoti said a hand grenade apparently was thrown into the crowd of demonstrators and 11 people were injured in the blast. The spokesman said police were still investigating the incident.

One man died during surgery for chest and heart injuries at a hospital in town, doctors said.

Local Serbs oppose any kind of Pristina authority in Kosovo as they regard Kosovo's declaration of independence as an illegal move.

The office in Mitroivca is closed now and under police guard.

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