Tuesday, 3 December 2002 |
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Ten killed in fresh clashes in Indian Kashmir SRINAGAR, India, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ten people, including four militants, were killed on Sunday in fresh clashes between Muslim guerillas and Indian security forces in the disputed Kashmir region, police said. Rebel violence has continued unabated since a new coalition government took power last month promising to bring a "healing touch" to the Himalayan region, torn by a 13-year separatist revolt since 1989. Five people, including two militants and a soldier, were killed on Sunday when suspected Muslim guerrillas attacked a security patrol in Kashmir, police said. The clash took place near Bandoda, 173 km (108 miles) east of Jammu. More than 60 people have been killed over the past week, including 13 in a raid on two Hindu temples in Jammu, the winter capital of the strife-torn state. "The patrol party came under heavy fire from militants hiding behind rocks," a senior police official said. Two soldiers and three civilians were also wounded in the three-hour gun battle. Later on Sunday, one Indian soldier was killed and six others were wounded when another army patrol was attacked by separatist guerrillas in the neighbouring area of Reshipora in Doda district, police said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far. Elsewhere, two militants and two civilians were killed in the separate shootouts in the region, police said. India has blamed Pakistan for the fresh spurt in violence. Pakistan denies direct involvement in the revolt against Indian rule but says it provides moral support to the Kashmiri people in their "struggle for self-determination". Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting New Delhi's rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state. |
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