Shishya
Administrator
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 1985
Location: Europe
|
 Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 7:31 pm Post subject: Islamic Militants Open Fire On Kashmir Rally |
 |
|
Gunmen Open Fire On Kashmir Rally
by
BBC
Police say at least three people have been killed after suspected Islamic militants attacked a Congress party rally in Indian-administered Kashmir.
 Others were injured in the attack, which witnesses said began when two men, dressed as police, got up from the crowd and began firing at the rostrum.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain, who was at the scene, said police had returned fire.
Thousands of people were attending the rally, in honour of slain Indian prime minister Rajiv Ghandi.
Witnesses reported a sudden burst of gunfire, which made everyone hit the ground.
Many fled from the scene, a park in central Srinagar, but others remained trapped there, officials say.
"I saw some policemen bleeding and hundreds of Congress party workers were lying down on the ground," a Reuters photographer said.
The inspector general of police is among the injured, our correspondent says.
One witness, Congress Party worker Mohammed Sayeed, told the Associated Press news agency that he had seen "more than a dozen people hit by bullets".
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had been scheduled to address the memorial marking the anniversary of former prime minister Ghandi's death, was not present when the attack began.
Gandhi was assassinated by a suspected Tamil rebel suicide bomber on 21 May 1991, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Talks Threat
Two militant groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Al-Nasireen, have claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack.
 It came after Islamic militants vowed to disrupt a forthcoming peace conference on Kashmir, scheduled to take place in Srinagar on Wednesday.
The round table talks, which will be the second such meeting since February, were convened by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The mountainous region has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear powers India and Pakistan for more than 50 years.
More than 60,000 people have been killed since an armed separatist insurgency began in Kashmir in 1989.
(Source) |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
