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| Family members of the slain in militant attack mourning |
By
Zafarul-islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
New
Delhi, May 14 (IslamOnline): Heavily armed secessionist militants
stormed an Indian army camp and attacked a passenger bus on the
outskirts of Jammu city Tuesday killing 34 people, including 22 army
personnel and their family members, in one of the deadliest attacks in
the 13 years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The
three-member suicide squad of militants, carrying out the attacks,
were later shot dead in a three-hour operation by army commandos,
official sources said. The passenger bus had been travelling to Jammu
from Himachal Pradesh.
Among
the dead in the attack were 10 children, eight women and five men,
official sources said, adding that the militants, dressed in Indian
army combat uniform, also shot dead seven passengers of a Jammu-bound
bus before storming the military base.
Two
unknown outfits, Al-Mansooran and Jamiatul Mujahideen, claimed
responsibility for the attack that coincided with the presence of the
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca in New Delhi.
Rocca
condemned the attack as "barbaric" and said "it is this
type of barbaric terrorism that the international war on terrorism is
determined to stop."
Most
of the casualties in the residential quarters were of children aged
between four and ten, Major General Mohan Pandey,
general-officer-commanding of 16 Corps, told reporters after visiting
the site of the incident. He said the toll could rise as many of the
injured were in critical condition.
A
commentator in Delhi said that this attack is a strong signal from the
militants that "cross-border terrorism" has not de-escalated
as India has been demanding for Pakistan, and that President Musharraf
himself cannot check militancy anymore.
The
Indian army, on the other hand, claimed today that the current
deployment along the borders with Pakistan will not affect the
counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, where the
situation is improving, a senior army officer said Tuesday.
He
said 357 militants were killed and 387 arrested in counter-terrorism
operations in the Valley of Kashmir between January to April this
year. Forty militants surrendered during the period, he added.
On
a similar issue, two simultaneous bomb blasts took place Monday, May
13, in the north Indian town of Saharanpur’s Mangloo Wali Masjid,
with no injury or loss of life reported.
One
bomb exploded on the roof of the mosque, minutes before the Dawn
(Fajr) prayers, while the other explosion took place near the
gate of the mosque, damaging the door, tiles and outer walls of the
mosque.
A
third bomb that was meant to explode just after the prayers when
people would be leaving the mosque, was discovered near the entrance
of the mosque and diffused.
