SRINAGAR, India, July 17 (Reuters) - Sixteen people, including Hindu pilgrims, were wounded on Tuesday in Indian Kashmir when suspected separatist militants threw a grenade near a crowded Hindu pilgrimage camp, police said.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack which took place at Baltal, one of the base camps for an annual Hindu pilgrimage east of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital.

"We have laid siege to the area for search operations," a police official said.

Every year thousands of Hindus trek through treacherous mountain passes to the Amarnath shrine, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,700 feet).

The two-month long pilgrimage has often been targeted by Muslim rebels. Last year over a dozen pilgrims were wounded in an attack. Indian authorities have deployed tens of thousands of soldiers along the pilgrim route.

A 17 year old separatist revolt against New Delhi's rule has killed more than 42,000 people in the strife torn region claimed both by India and Pakistan but ruled in parts.

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