M A I N   N E W S

25 killed in gunbattle at Pahalgam
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Aug 1 — At least 25 persons, including three Amarnath yatris, were killed and 35 injured in a fierce gunbattle between militants and security personnel at Pahalgam, the base camp for Amarnath Yatra, 100 km from here, this evening.

According to reports reaching here, two militants in a surprise attack intercepted a group of yatris on the road leading from Pahalgam to Aroo at 6 p.m. today. The militants opened indiscriminate fire. The security forces deployed in the area retaliated. In the encounter that continued for about two hours, 25 persons, most of them local pony wallahs, were killed. The two militants were also killed in the encounter.

Out of the 35 injured, 20 were transported to Srinagar for treatment, a senior police officer told this correspondent.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee tonight condemned the militants’ attack on Amarnath pilgrims at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. He asked the state government to take necessary measures to provide adequate security for the pilgrims and treatment of the injured.