M A I N   N E W S

3 militants shot in encounter
SSP hurt, Army surrounds village

SRINAGAR, Dec 23 (UNI) — A special police officer (SPO) and a revenue official were among nine persons killed in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours. Also, three militants were killed in an encounter in Kathua.

An official spokesman said the militants kidnapped and later killed SPO Mehraj-ud-Din at Dangiwachi in north Kashmir this morning.

A patrol party killed a mercenary in an encounter at Pattan in Baramula district late last night. One AK rifle, four grenades and one wireless set were recovered from the slain militant.

He said the militants shot dead one Gaffar Qureshi and injured numberdar Abdul Rashid at Handwara this morning.

Security forces recovered some arms and ammunition at Tangmarg after a brief encounter with the militants last night, the spokesman said.

He said a beheaded body of Kosar Mehmood, a militant was recovered from Dhakdak this morning while two securitymen were injured in a militant attack at Phagla village.

The spokesman said security forces and the police killed three militants at Nai Kali Nangal last evening. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

Dewaspora Handwara died in hospital late last night.

B.R. Bhagat adds from Kathua: The police gunned down three Pakistani militants and six policemen sustained bullet injuries in a day-long encounter at Mansar Morh, about 4 km from here, last evening.

The DIG Jammu-Kathua range, Mr S.P. Vaid, said the SSP (Kathua), Mr Manohar Singh had received information that heavily armed militants were camping in the upper reaches of Mansa Morh, near Nud village. Mr Manohar Singh along with a contingent of the police launched search operation in the Mansar area last evening. The operation continued throughout the night. The Special Operation Group, the Vijay Nagar police and the Samba police also joined in the search operation.

The militants, seeing the police party, opened fire with sophisticated weapons and also lobbed hand grenades at it. The police retaliated, killing three militants.

The SSP and five other policemen were also injured.

Reinforcements have been rushed to the site of the encounter and the Army had surrounded the village. Intermittent firing was continuing till late last evening.

Meanwhile, Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba today claimed that its activists Abu Sakher and Abu Sajid had carried out the attack on Red Fort in Delhi yesterday in which two armymen and a civilian were killed.

A person claiming himself to be a spokesman of the outfit telephoned news organisations in Srinagar and named its activists who had carried out the attack.

In Islamabad, a Lashkar spokesman, claiming responsibility for the attack, said the outfit’s action was aimed at inviting attention of the world community to the Kashmir issue.

“We want India to stop political dramas”, spokesman Abu Osama said.