A gunbattle between Muslim militants and Indian troops in the heart of Kashmir's main city entered a second day yesterday amid concerns for the safety of about 40 people trapped in nearby buildings.
Two soldiers have been killed and 24 people, including seven journalists, wounded in the fighting. Witnesses said the area had been cordoned off by hundreds of troops, who were backed by armored jeeps and trucks mounted with machine guns.
An unspecified number of militants had positioned themselves in two buildings in central Srinagar after they raided the city's main business center on Friday afternoon, sparking a fierce battle with troops.
PHOTO: AFP
Police and witnesses said some 40 people were trapped in a newspaper office, the Daily Aftab, and in a hotel next to a building where the militants were holed up.
"They are all scared but safe," Zahoor Ahmad, an editor on the Urdu language newspaper, said by phone from the office.
Yesterday morning, police and soldiers rescued at least 20 civilians, including some children, who had been stranded in a bank in the area as shots were exchanged between the guerrillas and troops, a police officer said.
``We have cordoned off the entire area and evacuated everybody,'' K. Srinivasan, the Border Security Force's intelligence chief in Kashmir, said yesterday.
Two or three militants were firing from the two buildings' windows, Srinivasan said.
Two policemen and three paramilitary soldiers were wounded yesterday when security forces tried to storm one of the buildings where the militants were thought to be hiding, a senior police officer said.
``They [the militants] fired heavily as a group of police and paramilitary soldiers tried to storm one of the buildings,'' he said.
Security officials said they planned to flush out the militants, armed with grenades and automatic rifles, soon but were being careful to avoid civilian casualties.
"On the backside of the building, we are drilling a hole to push soldiers in to flush out the terrorists," a Border Security Force officer, who asked not to be named, said without elaborating.
Television cameramen and photographers who had rushed to cover Friday's firefight got caught in the crossfire. Seven were hurt, including a cameraman who was in a critical condition.
In Srinagar, streets were quieter than usual as many people stayed indoors to keep out of the way.
"Incidents like this make me feel hopeless. Peace for Kashmir is like a mirage," Abdul Ahad, a 50-year-old businessman, said.
Two Islamic groups fighting New Delhi's rule over Kashmir, Al-Mansuriyan and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the raid although officials have not named any group suspected in the attack.
"Four mujahidin of Al-Mansuriyan and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen groups who have engaged Indian forces in a fierce gunbattle are safe and have inflicted heavy casualties on the security forces," a statement of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen said.
More than a dozen Islamic rebel groups have been fighting security forces in India's portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir for the territory's independence or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. The 15-year insurgency has claimed more than 66,000 lives, mostly civilians.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
RSS