M A I N   N E W S

Militants attack Mufti’s house
Kill two BSF personnel, take shelter in shopping complex
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 17
Two heavily armed militants tried to storm the official residence of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed ,here today. This was the first such attack during the past 14 years of militancy in the state.

Two BSF personnel were killed and more than 12 BSF men, one of them an Officiating Commandant, and three photo-journalists were injured in the attack on the highly guarded residence of the Chief Minister on Maulana Azad Road at 10 am.

The Chief Minister, however, was not at his residence at the time of the attack.

The police here said militants opened fire followed by hurling of grenades on security force personnel at M A Road near the Ali Jan complex here this morning. “BSF personnel on the spot retaliated and the terrorists entered the Dr Ali Jan Shopping complex. These terrorists have been firing from the complex and also hurling an occasional grenade,” a police spokesman told mediapersons this evening.

He said that police and BSF personnel had rescued 31 inmates of the shopping complex so far. The rescue operation continues and plans are afoot to storm the complex, the police said.

Two BSF men, identified as Head Constable Rajinder Singh and Constable Sri Gopal of 43 BN, were killed on the spot. Five others, including an Officiating Commandant Pramod Kumar Yadav and driver Sanjay Kumar were injured in the incident. Mr Yadav who was discharged after first aid, later resumed his duties in the operation, where he was injured again.

Three photo-journalists, including Rafiq Maqbool of the APTN and Syed Muzaffar of a local Urdu daily, Srinagar Times, received splinter injures while a group of newsmen had a miraculous escape when they had reached the spot a few minutes after the attack began.

A spokesman of the Al-Mansoorian outfit, claiming responsibility of the attack, told some local news agencies here that its two militants, Abu Maoood, a foreigner, and Abu Khabib were involved the attack.

Reports said the two militants wearing jackets who reached the spot on a motor bicycle, tried to storm through the entrance to Banquet Hall gate No 2 of the Chief Minister’s residence. They hurled three grenades towards the gate and opened fire. The BSF men retaliated and tried to chase the armed militants who went into hiding in the three-storeyed Ali Jan shopping complex on the opposite side.

Intermittent firing between the hiding militants and the police and BSF continued throughout the day. Over 30 persons, mostly businessmen and a group of computer students holed up in the complex, were evacuated safely by 6 pm in the evening.

Two police officers and a BSF jawan were injured when the joint party stormed the first floor of the shopping complex to flush out the militants.

The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was not there at the time of the attack as he had left the place around 6.30 am for the airport to fly to New Delhi. He was scheduled to visit Aligarh Muslim University later in the afternoon. His daughter and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was the only family member present in the house when the attack took place. She had to cancel all her day’s engagements following the incident.

Shocked over the incident, Ms Mufti told ‘The Tribune’ that it was premature to say anything about the intentions of militants.

According to a report from Aligarh, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister today blamed Pakistan for today’s attack on his official residence and said such acts could not succeed in subverting the peace process.

The Chief Minister, when asked whether Pakistan was behind today’s militant attack, told mediapersons at a press conference here that it was obvious who perpetrated such attacks.

NEW DELHI: Condemning Friday’s attack on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s residence in Srinagar, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said it was the handiwork of a little-known organisation, Al-Mansoorian, a front of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba.