Attack disrupts last round of Kashmir voting
Voters fled as suspected Islamic separatists attacked a polling station today during the final round of voting in Indian-held Kashmir.
A policeman and one attacker were killed as three gunmen opened fire and threw a grenade in Doda, 175 miles southeast of Jammu-Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar.
At least two suspects escaped, raising fears they might attack other polling stations nearby.
Six men from the Central Reserve Police Force and a civilian were wounded, officials said.
A senior police official said the gunmen were suspected to be from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the most feared of the militant groups fighting Indian security forces in the region since 1989.
The militants have been trying to scare voters away from the polls through violence.
Today marks the last stage of voting in a four-phase election in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.
India regards the poll as crucial for peace prospects in the Himalayan region.
There have been a string of attacks by Islamic rebels who oppose mainly Hindu India’s control over the territory, which is also claimed by largely Muslim Pakistan.
"There is no question of leaving Kashmir, which will always remain India’s integral part,"Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said during a trip to Cyprus today.
