The Hindu : Not a coincidence: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 15, 2002

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Not a coincidence: Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 14. The terrorist strike in Jammu early this morning which has left 30 dead, mostly civilians, has once again demonstrated that the extremists are not likely to be cowed down by the global coalition against terrorism, the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, said in identical statements in the two Houses of Parliament this evening.

All three terrorists were killed in the encounter that followed the attack, he added.

Informing Parliament that a new outfit of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamait-ul-Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attack, he thought ``it is not a coincidence'' that it occurred during the visit of a senior U.S. State Department official ( he was referring to the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Christina Rocca).

Giving details of the attack which occurred at 6.15 a.m., Mr. Advani said ``three terrorists in Army -type uniform'' boarded a Himachal Roadways passenger bus at Vijaypur between Pathankot and Jammu. When the bus reached Kaluchak bridge in Jammu district, the terrorists got off and threw a grenade at the bus and then ran towards the Army camp at Kaluchak.

Entering the family lines at the camp they continued to lob grenades and fire indiscriminately, killing and injuring Army personnel and their family members.

He said seven civilians were killed in the bus, 3 women and 4 men, while one person was injured. But at the Army camp the casualties were much higher — 23 dead, of which 5 were men, 8 women and 10 children.

Of these 3 were Army personnel, the rest all civilians, mostly family members of the Army men.

As many as 47 persons were injured. While one person has been shifted to the Jammu Medical College Hospital the rest were being treated at the military hospital.

Senior Home Ministry officials and the Minister of State for Home, I.D. Swami, have been asked to leave for Jammu.

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