M A I N   N E W S

Romeo Force kills 4 top militants
10 Pak soldiers killed in clash
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Oct 5 — The Army’s Romeo Force eliminated four top militants, including the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment at Surankot yesterday.

The police said men of the special Operation Group (SAG) of the state police also were part of the operation. The rebels were spotted by SAG men and the Romeo Force assisted the SAG in killing Hizb leader Abu Billal and his three accomplices after an hour-long encounter.

So far the Romeo Force has killed about 150 militants in the Rajouri-Poonch belt. And this is one of the reasons that militants have on several occasions, targeted the Romeo Force headquarters housed in the historic fort in Rajouri. Two days back militants equipped with Pika guns opened fire from two sides. Since the Pika gun has more than 1-km range the rebels had thought they would be able to destroy the headquarters. But the fort was too strong to be damaged by the Pika gun attack.

Last month militants fired rockets on the headquarters but they missed the target. Official sources said in Rajouri and Poonch security forces and the militants have been locked in a hit and run race. Militants have been trying all types of weapons and explosives, but have not been able to strike firmly. This is so because people have started cooperating giving specific information to security forces about militant hideouts. And during the last three months more than 12 hideouts were smashed in Poonch and Rajouri areas.

Militants have been more active in Poonch and Rajouri because they want to engage security forces in encounters and border guards for returning fire of Pakistani forces on the LoC so that militants managed to sneak into the Jammu sector.

Meanwhile, at least 10 Pakistani soldiers are said to have been killed when the Indian troops retaliated in the Laam sector in Poonch today.

Reports reaching here said Indian troops retaliated with high calibre weapons and mortar shells and destroyed two Pakistani bunkers and one post.

The Defence Ministry sources said that “unspecified number of Pakistan soldiers were killed and wounded, they said, “Pakistan may have lost eight to 10 soldiers”.

The ministry sources said that during the past 72 hours Pakistani troops had resorted to heavy artillery fire in which three civilians were killed and some civilian structures were damaged.

Pakistani troops had started pounding the Laam sector with artillery shells since last evening. The Indian troops retaliated and destroyed two Pakistani bunkers and one post. There was no casualty on “our side”.

Hizbul ultra held in Delhi
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Oct 5 — The Delhi Police claims to have averted a blast during the ongoing Ram Lila and Dasehra celebrations in the Capital with the arrest of a Pakistan army trained militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen and seized 5.4 kg of RDX from his possession.

The militant, Latif Mohammad Bhatt, was arrested from Subhash Park near Jama Masjid area of Central Delhi where he had gone to hand over the explosive to his contact, the Delhi Police Commissioner, Mr Ajai Raj Sharma, said.

Acting on a tip-off from military intelligence, sleuths of the special cell of the Delhi Police apprehended the militant, who is Hizbul Mujahiden’s district commander of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

While addressing the media, the Police Commissioner said that Latif Mohammad Bhatt, alias Bilal Ashraf, had sneaked into the Capital on October 3 and was assigned to carry out blasts at various Ram Lila venues.