At least 35 killed by gunmen in Kashmir during Clinton visit to India

March 21, 2000
Web posted at: 12:04 p.m. HKT (0404 GMT)

SRINAGAR, India (CNN) -- At least 35 members of a religious minority were dragged out of their homes and killed by unidentified gunmen early Tuesday in India- controlled Kashmir, police said.

Police said they have launched an operation to try to find those responsible following the early morning attack in Chatisingpura, about 40 miles (65 km) from Srinagar.

The shooting came just hours before U.S. President Bill Clinton was due to begin a state visit to India in New Delhi.

Police also say militants attacked a police station in Pattan, about 20 miles (35 km) north of Srinagar, with grenades and attack rifles. Three policemen were injured in that attack.

AUDIO CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra provides details on the attack 639k/60 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD India-Pakistan relations     RESOURCES TIME: Into the Breach TIME: Flirting With Trouble Asiaweek: Waiting For Bill Asiaweek: 'Very Dangerous Situation'     RESOURCES Background on Kashmir

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but in the past few weeks police say militants fighting for independence in Kashmir have stepped up attacks to publicize their cause, as Clinton arrives for his trip to South Asia.

Clinton will be officially welcomed at India's presidential palace in New Delhi later Tuesday. A few hours later, he is to meet with India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Both countries will then issue a joint statement on their vision for future ties.

Indian army officers had said earlier they expected a major operation by pro-separatist militants to draw attention to Kashmir during Clinton's visit. Many Kashmiris were anticipating that the president's visit would lead to a breakthrough in the long deadlock on Kashmir's future.

Men reportedly shot at point-blank range

The Associated Press reported that gunmen entered the village and segregated the men from the women, announcing that they were conducting a "crackdown."

Indian security forces operate similarly when searching a neighborhood for militants they suspect may be hiding there.

Then the gunmen opened fire on the men, killing 35 of them. One man was critically wounded and taken to hospital.

"They brought out the males from their homes and shot them at point- blank range," said A.K. Bhan, the director general of police. He said the attackers spoke Urdu, the language common in both Kashmir and in Pakistan.

The Sikh community has lived mostly undisturbed in the Kashmir Valley, the only area in predominantly Hindu India with a Muslim majority. The Sikhs, concentrated in a handful of towns and villages, are generally businessmen and run the trucking companies that supply the valley.

The Sikhs were considered a neutral party in the Kashmir conflict.

Just before leaving Washington, Clinton described Kashmir as the "most dangerous place in the world."

One of his main missions on the trip is to try to forge peace in Kashmir, a disputed area where Pakistan and India have been fighting for nearly 50 years.

India accuses Pakistan of backing a militant movement on its side of Kashmir. Pakistan says it gives the militants only moral and diplomatic support.

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