Militants kill 7 in Udhampur

By Our Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, AUG. 15. Militants killed seven villagers in a remote village of Udhampur district on Tuesday night, even as Jammu and Kashmir was under a security blanket in view of the Independence Day celebrations.

A group of militants entered Angrala village, around 390 km. from Srinagar, late on Tuesday night and fired upon some villagers who were on their way to Sarh village after celebrating Janmashtami. The Udhampur SP, Mr. Deepak Kumar, told The Hindu over phone that five of the dead were Hindus and three women.

Bodies booby-trapped?

When the bodies were being retrieved, a bomb, presumably wired to the bodies, went off and two persons were killed, Mr. Kumar said. Those dead and injured were Muslims who had assembled to remove the bodies.

A police party, led by the Reasi SP, Mr. Satish Khandare, has left for the village to take stock of the situation. Police sources said that security forces deployed in the area had started combing operations to nab the militants.

The Governor, Mr. G.C. Saxena, and the Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, expressed shock over the killings and blamed Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in the State. The Hizb-ul Mujahideen chief commander, Abdul Majid Dar, also condemned the killings.

Eight militants killed

In other incidents elsewhere in the State, 13 persons, including eight militants, two civilians and three security personnel, were killed and 30 injured. The day went off peacefully in Srinagar with a curfew-like situation prevailing in the city.

In Handwara township of north Kashmir, militants fired a rifle grenade towards a school were the Army had organised Independence Day celebrations. The explosion caused injuries to at least 21 people, including children. Police sources said four Army, three BSF and seven police personnel were also injured.

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