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Delhi's Red Fort Attacked
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Suspected pro-Kashmiri fighters gunned down three people on Friday in a daring attack on the historic Red Fort in the heart of New Delhi.
Additional Commissioner of Police Ajay Chadha said a soldier, a barber and another civilian were killed in the attack, which occurred around 9:30 pm (1600 GMT).
"From what we can gather, there were two gunmen who opened fire," Chadha said, adding that their identity could not be confirmed.
However, other police sources said the hardline Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba outfit, one of the most powerful groups operating in Indian-controlled Kashmir, had claimed responsibility.
The attackers opened fire with automatic AK-47 rifles from three points inside the fort as the families of army personnel were holding a party, according to the Press Trust of India.
The attack - the first of its kind in the Indian capital - came two days after India announced that it was extending its one-month unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir by another four weeks.
"It seems the gunmen might have escaped, but we are still conducting search operations," Chadha said.
However, BBC reports that Lashkar-e-Toiba contacted their New Delhi bureau, claiming that one gunmen remained in the fort, although this could not be confirmed.
Describing the incident as "a serious security lapse," Chadha said an investigation had been ordered into how the gunmen managed to launch their assault.
The Mughal-built fort not only houses a military garrison, but is also one of India's main interrogation centers where hundreds of Kashmiris have been questioned in the past.
Immediately after the attack, Indian troops cordoned off the entire area around the fort and sounded a red alert while launching a combing operation for the gunmen.
New Delhi police, meanwhile, set up pickets across the city and conducted checks on vehicles entering and leaving the capital.
Small two- or three-man Lashker "suicide" squads have been responsible for attacks on security installations in Kashmir in the past.
Their normal strategy has been to force their way into army or police paramilitary camps, barricade themselves inside a building, and engage the security forces in a shootout inevitably ending with their death.
The Lashker was among several groups that rejected the Indian government's November 27th ceasefire, and its subsequent extension, as a propaganda ploy aimed at the international community.
Earlier Friday, the Lashker had said it was stepping up its operations against Indian security forces.
"Since Thursday our cadres have intensified attacks on the pickets and positions of the security forces under operation Eid," Pakistan-based spokesman Abu Osama said.
The conflict in Kashmir has claimed 34,000 lives since its launch in 1989.
Indian blames Pakistan for providing logistical and military support to the insurgency. Islamabad denies the charge, but extends open moral and diplomatic support to what it describes as the Kashmiri freedom fighters.
India suspended operations against Kashmiri groups in Kashmir at midnight November 27th to coincide with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced the ceasefire would be extended for a further four weeks and said his government would take "exploratory steps" towards resuming a stalled dialogue with Pakistan.
Pakistan responded by announcing the partial withdrawal of troops along the Line of Control - the de facto border dividing Indian- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
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