SRINAGAR, 1 October 2007 — Two militants, who were holed up in a south Kashmir mosque, were killed yesterday afternoon, ending a 24-hour siege in Tujan village, 50 km from here in Pulwama district.
Police said the militants took shelter in the village mosque yesterday afternoon during a search operation by the troops of 53 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group.
During the search the militants entered the mosque after an exchange of fire with the security forces, a senior police officer said. The mosque was immediately surrounded and a tight cordon laid to ensure the two did not leave under the cover of darkness.
Police said the holed up militants ignored appeals to lay down arms, and instead started firing at the surrounding troops. They said that in order to avoid heavy damage to the mosque, the security forces used tear gas to smoke the militants out of the mosque and then killed them.
“The operation has ended with the killing of the two holed up militants of Hizbul Mujahedeen outfit. The mosque was partially damaged in the operation,” the officer said.
Police are looking for the militants’ accomplices in the area, he added.
Police identified the slain guerrillas as Khursheed Ahmed Rather and Nazir Ahmed Dar of the Hizbul Mujahedeen. Rather was the most-wanted local commander of the group, senior police officer Ashiq Bukhari said.
There was no immediate word from Hizbul Mujahedeen, one of a dozen guerrilla groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
When the siege ended, hundreds of protesters gathered at the mosque chanting, “We want freedom” and “Down with collaborators.”
The violence comes as Muslim-majority Kashmir observes the fasting month of Ramadan. Separatist militants fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir have in the past sought refuge in mosques and other shrines.
Most of the sieges have ended in bloodshed.
More than 42,000 people have been killed since an anti-India revolt began in the Himalayan region in 1989, officials say. Human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing.
Violence has declined in Kashmir since India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004.
