M A I N   N E W S

Bid to blow up AIR tower
100 kg of RDX recovered
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, April 15 — Eight militants were among 11 persons killed in separate incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday, while the militants made an attempt to blow up the AIR tower here this morning.

The outer wall of the premises of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, was partially damaged when an IED planted by suspected militants went off around 8 am today. According to Mr K. Rajendra, DIG, Kashmir Range, the device could have been planted during the night.

This is for the first time that the militants have made an attempt on the radio station building which is heavily guarded by the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Militants had last month fired rifle grenades at the adjacent Doordarshan station. However, no damage was caused as these grenades fell in the open fields with one hitting the outer gate.

A defence spokesman here today claimed that Army jawans recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition in Dalgate area yesterday. The spokesman said the troops recovered 100 kg of RDX from a house in Dalgate Chinese hand grenades and AK-47 ammunition.

“It is suspected that the explosive was collected to target the offices of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir during their move from Jammu to Srinagar”, the spokesman stated.

The recovery was made by troops in a routine operation launched in the Dalgate area here on the intervening night of April 13 and 14.

Two jawans were injured when suspected militants hurled a grenade at a security picket at Cheeni Chowk in Anantnag town last evening.

A joint operations group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the security forces apprehended a top militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen from Budgam district. He was identified as Fayaz Ahmad Khanday. The arrest was made at Watrad in Budgam district.

A police spokesman said two remote-control devices, two hand grenades, two magazines, 40 rounds of ammunition and 2,300 blank identity cards were recovered at his instance from a hideout at Kutbal village, Chadoora, in the same district.

Three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Adbas in Mahore sector of Udhampur district yesterday.

Four militants were killed in three separate encounters with the security forces in Rajouri district of Jammu region. Two militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Kotli, Kalban, in Manjkote sector. Two rifles and 13 kg of RDX were recovered from the site.

A militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Dodsan-Hayatpora in Manjkote sector. An assault rifle, a pistol and three hand grenades were recovered from the slain militant. Another militant was killed at Kot Dhara from whose possession a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered.

A foreign militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Dooraswani forest area in Kupwara district of north Kashmir. The police said the police and security forces cordoned off the area on specific information. They were fired upon by the hiding militants. The militant killed in the encounter was identified as Alfaaz Hussain of Pakistan. A rifle and ammunition were recovered from the slain militant.

The bodies of two women were recovered from Nullah Lar near Nagbal village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

The police recovered a decomposed body of a male from the Jhelum in Uri in Baramulla.

A report from Jammu said an Army man was killed in an exchange of firing with militants in Laam area of Rajouri.

A report from Baramulla said Shias took to the streets and blocked traffic at Hanjiveri on the Srinagar-Baramulla road today in protest against the reported blast in a Shia shrine in Baghdad, Iraq. The demonstrators raised slogans against Iraqi President Saddam Hussain.