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Kashmir attacks: Indian troops and civilians killed | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
At least eight people, including four policemen and two soldiers, have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir after suspected militants attacked a police post and an army camp. | |
The attacks took place in Kathua and Samba districts, close to the de facto border with Pakistan. | |
Two militants have also been killed in the attacks, police said. | |
Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989. | Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989. |
India has a large security presence in Kashmir with tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces deployed in the region. | India has a large security presence in Kashmir with tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces deployed in the region. |
Indian PM Manmohan Singh said Thursday's attacks were "one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by the enemies of peace". | |
They come days before the meeting this weekend between Mr Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. | |
Peace talks between the two countries have been stalled for the past two years, and dialogue is expected to ease recent tensions along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the two countries. | |
On Thursday morning, "three to four men" in army uniforms arrived at a police station in Hiranagar in Kathua and opened fire. | |
Four policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack, police said. | Four policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack, police said. |
'Barbaric' | |
After attacking the police station, the militants hijacked a truck and fled, senior Kashmir police official Rajesh Kumar told Reuters news agency. | After attacking the police station, the militants hijacked a truck and fled, senior Kashmir police official Rajesh Kumar told Reuters news agency. |
"They abandoned the truck on the national highway and perhaps took another vehicle and carried out an attack on the army camp in Samba," he said. | |
An army officer and a soldier are reported to have been killed in the clash in Samba. Two militants were also killed in the gunbattle, police said. | |
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told reporters that the attackers had crossed over from Pakistan on Wednesday. | |
"Given the history, timing and location, the aim is to derail the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart," Mr Abdullah said. | |
"There are forces that are inimical to peace and want to derail any peace process." | |
Earlier this week, a paramilitary soldier was killed when suspected militants fired at two soldiers in a busy market in Srinagar. | |
In recent years violence in Kashmir has abated from its peak in the 1990s, but the causes of the insurgency are still far from resolved. | In recent years violence in Kashmir has abated from its peak in the 1990s, but the causes of the insurgency are still far from resolved. |
And the hanging earlier this year of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, on charges of plotting the 2001 attack on India's parliament, has triggered a fresh spate of violence. | And the hanging earlier this year of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, on charges of plotting the 2001 attack on India's parliament, has triggered a fresh spate of violence. |
In May, four soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected militants in Pulwama district. | |
In March, two armed militants disguised as cricket players attacked a paramilitary camp and killed five troops. | In March, two armed militants disguised as cricket players attacked a paramilitary camp and killed five troops. |
The militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Two people were arrested in connection with the attack. | The militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Two people were arrested in connection with the attack. |