Rebel Storms Kashmir Military Camp

A lone militant stormed a paramilitary barracks in Indian-controlled Kashmir in an apparent suicide attack, killing nine soldiers and wounding 10 before he was killed by government forces, a paramilitary officer said Thursday.

The militant hurled a grenade into the building in a residential neighborhood in Srinagar city late Wednesday before entering it and firing repeatedly, said V.D. Tokas, deputy inspector-general of the Central Reserve Police Force, a paramilitary outfit.

A civilian passer-by was also wounded in the attack.

"We were taken by surprise," he told The Associated Press.

Suicide attacks by rebels on military camps or barracks are common in Kashmir.

Local news agency United News Service reported that an unidentified caller claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of two Pakistan-based militant groups, Al-Madinah and Al-Mansourain.

Police imposed a curfew in the neighborhood as soon as the 12-hour shootout began and warned residents over loudspeakers to remain indoors or they could be shot on sight. The curfew was lifted Thursday, two hours after the gunbattle ended.

"The battle (was) prolonged because of darkness and the location," next to residential houses on all sides, Tokas said. The security forces were unable to fire rockets into the building or plant bombs to blow it up because of the proximity to civilian homes.

The sound of gunfire and explosions frightened the residents.

"It was a nightmare," said 83-year-old Agha Ashraf Ali, who lives next to the camp.

His neighbor, Mehmooda, who uses only one name, dislocated her ankle while rushing downstairs, as explosions shattered the windows in her home.

Separately, suspected guerrillas ambushed an army foot patrol in a dense forest Thursday, killing two and wounding another, said Saif-ud-Din, a local police officer, who uses one name.

The attackers fled on foot after the assault in Hapatnar, 60 miles southwest of Srinagar, Saif-ud-Din said when reached by phone.

Indian security forces have been fighting more than a dozen Islamic militant groups since 1989. The guerrillas are seeking independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan. At least 65,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the 14-year conflict.
By Mujtaba Ali Ahmad