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Grenade attack on Mufti's house

By Our Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR NOV. 2. Even as the Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was being sworn-in, militants stepped up their activities, killing a Congress leader and attacking the residence of the Mufti. A militant outfit has announced a reward for targeting the new Government.

Around 10 a.m. when Mr. Sayeed was preparing for the oath-taking ceremony, militants fired two rifle grenades towards his residence at Nowgam, on the outskirts of the city. The grenades landed outside the house, injuring a constable, Mohammad Yaqoob. There was panic as many people wishing to congratulate the Mufti were at the residence. Police and other security personnel cordoned off the house.

Al-Nasreen, a hitherto unknown militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. It also announced a reward for those who carried it out and fixed Rs. 40 lakhs for the head of the PDP vice-president, Muzaffar Hussain Beig, and Rs. 20 lakhs for other Ministers. "For us Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad make no difference," a spokesman of the outfit told the local news agency, CNS.

In the afternoon, militants fired at the vehicle of a Congress leader, Sikandar Khan, in Batmaloo area here killing him and his two guards. Mr. Khan, who was defeated in the recent Assembly elections from Karnah, was returning after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Cabinet. Al-Madinah, a militant outfit, owned responsibility for the killing.

A Head Constable, Abdul Khaliq, was shot dead by militants in the Budshah Chowk area of the city while militants attacked a BSF camp in Baghi Ali Mardan Khan. Two persons, Bilal Ahmed and Mohammad Yusuf, were abducted and later killed by militants in Pattan.

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