Kashmir: Islamic militants blamed for deaths
Indian police have blamed Islamic militants for the murder of 12 Muslims, including eight children, in the disputed Himalayan province of Kashmir today.
The attackers forced their way into a house in the remote village of Salwa and began firing indiscriminately, according to police.
The dead included eight children, aged six months to 12 years, two men and two women.
One of the women was nine months’ pregnant with twins. A police spokesman said the attack was carried out by a police deserter, who apparently conspired with local militants to avenge a family dispute.
He said three out of four suspects have already been arrested, but gave no other details. Islamic militant groups operating in the area denied any involvement in the slaughter, saying they never target civilians.
Meanwhile, Indian police also said two Islamic militants were killed today in a gunbattle with the Indian army in Doda.
Both were identified as activists in the Jaish-e-Mohammed group, one of around a dozen organisations which have been fighting for independence in Kashmir since 1989.
Five Indian soldiers were also injured in the clash, two of them critically. Elsewhere, a spokesman for the Indian army said a commander in the Hezb-ul-Mujahideen militant group was killed in a gunfight with Indian soldiers in Hathipora last night.
