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Firefight in Kashmir's main city enters second day

Posted on: Saturday, 30 July 2005, 01:10 CDT

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Two soldiers were dead and 20 people, including seven journalists, were wounded as a firefight between Muslim militants and Indian troops in Kashmir's main city entered its second day on Saturday.

An unspecified number of militants were holed up in two buildings in the heart of Srinagar after they raided the city's main business center on Friday afternoon, sparking a fierce battle with troops.

"We are planning to storm," K. Srinivasan, a senior security official, told Reuters. "There was intermittent exchange of fire throughout the night."

Witnesses said close to one km (0.6 mile) radius had been cordoned off by hundreds of troops, who were backed by armored jeeps and trucks mounted with machine guns.

Television cameramen and photographers who had rushed to cover Friday's firefight got caught in the crossfire. Seven were hurt, including a cameraman who was in a critical condition after being shot in the stomach.

In Srinagar, streets were quieter than usual as many people stayed indoors to keep out of the way.

Two Islamic groups fighting New Delhi's authority over Kashmir, Al-Mansuriyan and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the raid.

New Delhi has said that despite a peace process with nuclear rival Pakistan, Islamabad allows Muslim militants to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the bitterly disputed Himalayan region.

Officials say there has been a surge in incursion attempts across the military ceasefire line that divides Kashmir in recent weeks as snow melts in high mountain passes.

The chief of Kashmir's ruling People's Democratic Party said separatist guerrillas were launching dramatic attacks to derail the peace process.

"We will not let this happen," Mehbooba Mufti told reporters.

On Friday, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf tried to ease Indian concerns over reports that militant camps were re-opening on his country's side of the line, saying the situation was "on the mend."

More than 45,000 people have been killed in the revolt in mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Source: REUTERS

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