Posted on 05/14/2002 4:41:59 PM PDT by Pokey78
AT LEAST 33 people, including women and children, were shot dead yesterday when suspected Islamic militants stormed an army camp in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Ten of the dead were less than seven years old. The three attackers, who sought refuge in a room in the barracks’ family quarters, were shot dead after a two-hour gun battle. The attack, the bloodiest in more than six months, came amid rising tensions and threats of military action from India over Pakistan’s failure to stop militants from crossing into the disputed territory. The three men, dressed in Indian Army uniforms, arrived at the Kaluchak camp near the winter capital of Jammu shortly before dawn. They were aboard a bus travelling from Manali to Jammu. As the bus approached the camp, they ordered the driver to stop, then began to fire on the passengers. Seven people were killed before the men leapt from the bus and began firing on soldiers inside the camp. They blasted their way through the camp, reaching the family quarters of the barracks, where they shot dead 22 soldiers, their wives and children before holing up in a flat. After two hours soldiers stormed the rooms, shooting dead the three men. They found them armed with automatic rifles, grenades and bombs. Major-General Mohan Pandey, of the Indian Army, said: “They were wiring the buildings with explosives before they were shot.” Within hours of the attack, two Pakistani-based militant groups claimed responsibility. The first was made by al-Mansoorain, believed to be a shadow group of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, which was banned in Pakistan earlier this year after its role in an attack on the Indian Parliament in December. The other claim came from the Jamiat-ul-Mujahidin, a separatist group that often claims responsibility for acts of violence in the disputed territory. The Indian Government believed that the attack was the work of Lashkar-i-Taiba, despite the conflicting claims. Whoever was responsible, the attack will serve only to bolster India’s claim that Pakistan has done nothing to halt the flow of militants across the Line of Control into Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has hinted that it is considering military strikes on Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to punish Pakistan. Police said that the militants had boarded the bus at Vijaipur, a small town six miles from the border with Pakistan. Although impossible to verify, it fits official claims that there has been a shift of infiltration from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu. The attack coincided with the visit of a senior American envoy sent to Delhi to cool escalating tensions. Christina Rocca, the Assistant Secretary of State, said: “It is precisely this type of barbaric terrorism that the international war on terrorism is determined to stop.” She is thought, however, to have urged restraint from India, insisting that military action would achieve nothing and could spiral dangerously out of control. India produced a new dossier of evidence of increased levels of incursions from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir since the snows melted in March and mountain passes became navigable. Officials claimed that there were more than 2,000 militants spread out along the Line of Control awaiting their chance to cross. Whether India was bluffing or girding itself for war remained unclear. Senior ministers have given conflicting statements about India’s intentions, leading some to believe that there is a split in the Government or that it has yet to make its mind up about the wisdom of military action. Of key concern are the state elections in Kashmir, scheduled for the autumn. India is desperately trying to woo moderate Kashmiri separatist groups into participating to win credibility for the process and divide the movement. Most officials seem to believe that any military action would have to wait until after the elections or risk seriously disrupting an already flawed process. Nevertheless, there is concern that Pakistan no longer takes Indian threats seriously. Hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides have been fully mobilised along the border since last December and the longer they remain there without taking action, the more remote the threat of war appears. The troops were rushed to the border after the attack last December on the Indian Parliament and have remained there, eyeball-to-eyeball, since. In recent weeks, India has moved more troops to the border and cancelled leave for thousands of others, raising alarm over its intentions. Diplomats have expressed concern that the tense situation could play into the hands of militant groups wanting to destabilise India and Pakistan. While it remains unclear whether President Musharraf of Pakistan is unwilling or unable to curb the militants, it is he who India wants to see pay. India believes that he has gone back on his promise to crack down by releasing hundreds of arrested militants and allowing them to return to their old activities Meanwhile, a member of the security forces was killed and three others were injured in a separate ambush by militants in the southern Rajouri district, police said.
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