Headlines
Kashmir attack kills six, including two terrorists
Jammu, March 20
In the first terror attack
after Jammu and Kashmir got a new government on March 1, a civilian and
three security personnel were killed on Friday when two guerrillas
stormed a police station before being gunned down.
After the
seven-hour-long siege ended, Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed blamed
"non-state actors" for the audacious attack on the Rajbagh police
station in Kathua district, just 15 km from the Pakistan border.
"This
was carried out by non-state actors who are against peace and lifting
of the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act)," he said. "It is time
Pakistan realized this as they are also battling these elements.
"Yeh
Islam nahi hai. (This is not what Islam teaches)," he added. "We will
not be deterred in our resolve to usher in permanent peace in the state
by these acts."
The attackers, armed with automatic weapons and
grenades and dressed in military fatigues, barged into the station
complex after killing the lone guard at the main gate in a near repeat
of a September 2013 attack in the same district.
The 6 a.m.
strike took everyone by surprise. Once the attackers sneaked into the
complex, on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, they started firing at a
building held by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), killing two of
its men.
A civilian was also killed. Ten others, overwhelmingly security personnel, were wounded and rushed to hospitals.
Inspector
General of Police Danish Rana announced the death of the two militants,
whose nationality was not known. An intelligence officer stated they
may have crossed into Kashmir from Pakistan.
The injured included
seven CRPF personnel, a police constable, a civilian and Deputy
Superintendent of Police Diwakar Singh, who sustained a bullet wound on
his shoulder, Rana said.
Police, paramilitary and soldiers rushed
to the site but they were cautious as many CRPF men were inside the
building which the militants had entered.
Amid covering fire from security forces from the outside, the trapped CRPF personnel managed to leave the building.
This
took time. It was finally around 1.30 p.m. that the authorities made
the final assault on the now isolated building, killing the two
attackers.
A thorough search was then made of the building.
As the gun battle between the militants and security forces raged, traffic on the highway was halted.
All schools in Kathua were hurriedly ordered shut. All school examinations scheduled in the district were postponed.
This
was the first terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir after a coalition
government of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata
Party took power on March 1.
In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh said: "We share the grief of the families of the police
officers and the civilian killed by the terrorists."
Twelve
people were killed on September 26, 2013 when guerrillas had attacked
Hiranagar police station also in Kathua district and then entered an
army camp on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.