M A I N   N E W S

Captain, 9 militants killed
2 Hungarian women hurt in blast
Tribune News Service and agencies

SRINAGAR, Aug 12 — At least nine militants and an Army Captain were killed in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday, while four pedestrians, including two Hungarian women, were injured in a grenade explosion here this afternoon.

A group of six militants sneaked from across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Indian side in Ratti-Mitti area of Keri sub-sector in Poonch yesterday, an official spokesman said today.

Five militants, belonging to Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI), were shot dead in a fierce battle.

An Army officer, Capt Shekhar Gosh, succumbed to his injuries. Two jawans who sustained bullet wounds during the encounter were hospitalised.

In another incident, a group of militants entered into the house of Mir Hussain at Behrote village in Poonch district and shot him dead.

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and three jawans were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED), which they were trying to defuse, exploded at Lasana village on the Surankote-Poonch road yesterday.

Troops detected and neutralised a powerful IED at another place on the Poonch road. It contained 10 kg of RDX, the spokesman said.

Troops during searches in the house of Mohammad Ishaq of Kandi Gala in Budhal tehsil of Rajouri district recovered a bag of explosives containing 11 grenades, three RPG bombs and five other bombs.

Two Hungarians identified as Maria Anna and Rata Anna were among the four pedestrians injured in a grenade explosion at Telbal Chowk, Hazratbal, here this afternoon.

A police spokesman said militants hurled a grenade near Auqaf building at Hazratbal here at 2.40 p.m. The grenade exploded on the road, causing injuries to four persons. Those injured were admitted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura.

This is for the first time that a foreign tourist has been injured during the decade-long militancy.

Three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Kounsar jungles in the Bandipore area of Baramula district today. No details were available.

A police spokesman stated the chief commander of Ansar-ul-Mujahideen was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Rakh Bangish in Magam area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir yesterday. He was identified as Babar Badar of Braripora. An assault rifle, three magazines with 21 rounds and a wireless set were recovered from the site of the encounter.

Men paraded, vehicles searched
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Aug 12 — Security has been beefed up here to thwart any designs of militants to create trouble on Independence Day.

Arrangements have further been tightened around Bakshi Stadium, the venue of the main Independence Day celebrations, where the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, is expected to unfurl the Tricolour. The localities around Bakshi Stadium, including Magharmal Bagh, Allochi Bagh, Solina, Gogji Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Rajbagh and other adjacent localities are under the strict vigil.

Several areas have been witness to the cordon-and-search operations during recent days. A two-pronged strategy has been adopted to thwart the designs of the militants on the occasion of Independence Day. These include stepping up of the operations against militants and an increase in protective cover in the area, according to the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir, Dr Ashok Bhan.

The police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to make foolproof security arrangements in the city and its suburbs.

Send troops to valley, Pak urged

ISLAMABAD, Aug 12 (AP) — Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin today urged Pakistan to send troops to the Kashmir valley even if it means a war.

At his headquarters in a posh neighbourhood of Islamabad, Salahuddin criticised India for last week’s collapse of the ceasefire offer. From the outset, Salahuddin said the ceasefire hinged on a “meaningful dialogue.” For Salahuddin and his group, “meaningful” meant peace talks that included Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri leadership. For India, it meant bilateral talks with the Kashmiris, which New Delhi quickly agreed to.

“But bilateral talks have failed in the past” he said.

He said his outfit would step up attacks against Indian soldiers until New Delhi agrees to tripartite talks. The attacks will be more sophisticated and targeted at Indian Army facilities inside Indian-ruled Kashmir and elsewhere in India.