|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police gain control of Kashmir battle site
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- A violent standoff between Indian security forces and militants has ended after Indian forces hit the building they were holed up in with two massive blasts. The final assault came hours after a fierce gunbattle erupted between Indian security forces and militants in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, just minutes after polls opened for a second round of state elections. Explosions and gunfire could be heard for more than an hour from around a school where Indian soldiers had surrounded militants holed up in a residence next door. Police officials said one militant was killed and security forces were searching the building for two more. The militants are reportedly members of Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistan-based group that is banned by Islamabad. The standoff began overnight when militants attacked Indian troops guarding the school, throwing as many as eight grenades before taking refuge in a nearby house.
A fierce exchange of fire lasting over an hour followed after Indian forces surrounded the area. The fighting intensified at dawn, when security personnel hit the residence with grenades and rockets after failing to force the militants out, setting the house ablaze. It is hoped the school will operate as a polling site later in the day. Voting in Jammu and other parts of the region have gone ahead without incident. Hundreds killedNearly 460 people -- including 45 politicians and campaign workers -- have been killed in Kashmir since elections were announced in early August. The militants oppose the Indian-backed elections, which continue today with the second of four rounds in Kashmir's two largest cities -- Srinagar and Jammu -- and the Budgam region. The militants, who back independence for Kashmir, have called for a boycott of the vote. Such strike calls are normally observed as much out of a general fear of violence as support for the strike and it may affect the turnout in Tuesday's round. Despite a similar strike in last week's first round, about 48 percent of registered voters turned out for the first phase of the election. The election's final phase will be on October 8. Voting for the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir state assembly is being staggered to allow India to put adequate security in place. Monday's violenceFighting took the lives of at least a dozen people on Monday. In the deadliest incident, the Indian army killed five militants in the Kupwara district near the Line of Control between Indian- and Pakistani-controlled areas. India said the militants had infiltrated into northern Kashmir from Pakistan. Four militants were killed in a gunbattle with Indian soldiers who raided a house near the town of Banihal in southern Kashmir, police said. One soldier died in the firefight and a police officer was wounded. An Indian soldier and one civilian died when an army patrol vehicle hit a land mine in the Udhampur district of Jammu. At least 19 people were killed and as many as 20 were injured during weekend violence in the troubled region. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee blamed Pakistan for the rise in violence ahead of the polling days. Vajpayee said Sunday the latest attacks showed that Islamabad was not doing enough to stop cross-border incursions by Islamic rebels, who have vowed to disrupt the elections. Kashmir has been a point of contention between India and Pakistan since 1947, leading to two wars between the nuclear neighbors. -- New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra and CNN Correspondent Ram Ramgopal contributed to this report
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
