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| India-Pakistan |
| Two killed, seven hurt in militant attack in Kashmir |
| 2006-10-04 |
| SRINAGAR, India -Two police commandos were killed and seven people hurt when Islamic rebels opened fire from a hotel window in Indian Kashmir’s summer capital Wednesday, sending shoppers fleeing in panic, police said. Security forces rushed to the scene as the firing erupted from the window of the small hotel near Lal Chowk, the major shopping area in Srinagar. Police initially thought only one militant was involved but later said they believed there were two militants. “They are firing from there and we’ve ringed the hotel,” police spokesman Vishal, who goes by one name, said. “Most probably there are two militants,” he added. Security forces who returned fire said the gunmen appeared to be targeting a nearby police paramilitary camp. Two police commandos were killed and three policemen and four civilians were wounded in the attack, which was still continuing late Wednesday. A group known as Al Mansurian claimed responsibility in calls to local media. Indian security forces say Al Mansurian is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, an outlawed Pakistan-based group fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir and which police allege helped stage July’s Mumbai train bombings that killed 186 people. Four civilians, including the hotel manager, were wounded in the shooting which erupted during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The firing sparked terror on the busy streets which quickly emptied. Police rescued two dozen people trapped in shops just below the hotel where the guerrillas holed up. “It was an ugly experience. I’m thankful to the police for getting me out of the shops and giving me a new life,” said Mohammed Rafiq, as the sound of gunfire mingled with the call to prayer from a nearby mosque. The violence came hours after India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned Pakistan it had to prove it was sincere in working with New Delhi to counter terrorism. New Delhi accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting its rule in Indian Kashmir, charges that Islamabad rejects. “Pakistan will have to walk the talk” in order for the peace process between the neighbours to move forward, Singh said Tuesday night. The nuclear-armed nations agreed last month to put in place an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to implement counter-terrorism initiatives. Indian Kashmir has also been rocked by violent protests against the planned hanging on October 20 of an Indian Kashmiri convicted of conspiracy in a 2001 attack on parliament. Militants have warned of “dire consequences” if the man is executed. In other violence, troops shot dead five militants in gunbattles late Tuesday and early Wednesday, police said, adding two of the dead rebels were “senior commanders” of Lashkar. “One of them was involved in the killing of 50 people, including policemen and members from the Hindu community,” a police spokesman said. More than 44,000 people have died during the 17-year-old revolt by official count. Separatists say the tally is more than double. |
| Posted by:Steve |