Kashmir battle leaves 17 dead
 |
A suicide attack on the state-run 'Radio Kashmir' station in Srinagar on Saturday killed five.
Story Tools
SPECIAL REPORT
|
|
|
SRINAGAR, Indian Kashmir (CNN) -- A fierce gun battle between Indian security forces and suspected militants in southern Kashmir has killed 17 people, police in Indian-administered Kashmir say.
Police said the gun battle early Tuesday in Bharat in Doda district lasted for nearly four hours. Eleven militants were killed, as were six Indian army soldiers. Police said the militants used grenades and assault rifles to take on the army.
In another incident, police said an unknown number of suicide attackers known as fedayeen attempted to storm a heavily guarded Indian army camp in the northern Kupwara district.
Security sources said one militant was killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops. The other militants apparently escaped under cover of darkness.
Nearly 100 people have been killed in violence in Indian Kashmir since a visit to the region by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee 10 days ago.
During that visit, Vajpayee announced he was willing to open talks with Pakistan on the dispute over the region providing Pakistan stops what he called "cross-border infiltration" into the Indian part of Kashmir.
Pakistan says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri militants.
Vajpayee spoke with his Pakistani counterpart, Zafarullah Khan Jamali, late Monday and said his government wanted to restore economic and other ties with its neighbor. (Phone call)
Senior U.S. diplomats are expected in the region next week to help restart the dialogue between India and Pakistan. Senior Indian officials will also be visiting Washington at the same time.
India controls two-thirds of the region, Pakistan the other third. Each country claims Kashmir as its own. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989, when a separatist movement against Indian rule turned violent.
-- CNN Producer Ram Ramgopal in New Delhi and Correspondent Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar contributed to this report.
