Two separate gunbattles in the Indian-held Kashmir left five suspected militants dead, while another was captured by plainclothes security officers, officials said. Soldiers raided Handwara town on Monday, triggering a gunfight that killed three suspected militants, said army spokesman Lt-Col VK Batra. Handwara is about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Srinagar. Two more suspected militants died in a separate shootout in Kulgam, south of Srinagar, Batra said.
Police claimed they had captured a suspected militant after a chase in Srinagar. Special operations police chased two young men on a motorcycle Monday and captured one, who was injured in the scuffle, said Deputy Inspector General of Police HK Lohia. The other escaped and police were looking for him. Witnesses said police had dragged one of the men and beat his head in with a rock bludgeoned his head with a brick before whisking him away in an armored truck. Lohia said recent intelligence had suggested militants were planning several attacks in Srinagar. âOur reports led us to these two men,â he said. |