Al Jazeera's "fighters" = everyone else's "terrorists"
Indian troops storm Kashmir hotel
Aj Jazeera
Security forces surrounded the hotel, which had been overtaken by a group of fighters
A standoff in the main market area of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, has ended after nearly 24 hours, with the death of two fighters at the hands of security forces.
Kuldeep Khuda, the police chief of Indian Kashmir, said on the Thursday that "the operation as far as we are concerned is over".
A small hotel taken over by the men was left in flames after the police operation.
The standoff began when the attackers threw grenades and opened fire in Srinagar's Lal Chowk, before forcing their way into the hotel on Wednesday.
The police entered the four-storey building on Thursday morning, and killed the first fighter.
"The other terrorist tried to set the building on fire ... the building caught fire and he tried to make his escape but he was shot down," Khuda said.
"We are trying to find out if any more terrorists were inside but there are two bodies that are visible."
Khuda claimed one of the fighters was a Pakistani national.
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Troops storm hotel, end siege in Indian Kashmir
By Izhar Wani (AFP) – 9 hours ago
SRINAGAR, India — Commandoes stormed a hotel in Indian Kashmir on Thursday where two militants had been holed up for nearly 24 hours, killing the gunmen and bringing an end to the siege.
The four-storey hotel in Srinagar, the summer capital of the volatile Himalayan region, was on fire before police announced both the pro-Pakistan extremists had been killed in a morning assault by security forces.
The gunmen had taken refuge in the hotel on Wednesday after throwing grenades and opening fire in Srinagar's main market area. One police officer was killed in the attack and one bystander succumbed to his injuries Thursday. "The operation as far as we are concerned is over," Kuldeep Khuda, the state police chief, told reporters at the scene.
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2 militants killed in 22-hour-long gunbattle in India-controlled Kashmir
NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indian security forces Thursday killed two militants, allegedly belonging to the Pakistani terror outfit Lashker-e-Toiba, who were holed up in a hotel in the Indian-controlled Kashmir's capital city Srinagar, after a 22-hour-long fierce gun battle in which at least two people lost their lives, a senior police official said.
"The encounter is over. Two terrorists have been killed. We are ascertaining if there are any more terrorists inside the hotel who may be dead," Kashmir's police chief Kuldeep Khooda told the media in Srinagar.
He said a policeman was killed while a paramilitary trooper and eight civilians were injured when the terrorists opened fire and lobbed grenades when they were intercepted at a police check post in the Lal Chowk area.
"One of the civilians succumbed to his injuries today," he said.
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Militants die as Kashmir gunbattle ends
By James Lamont in New Delhi
Financial Times (India)
Published: January 7 2010 06:04
A day-long gunfight between militants and security forces in Srinagar, the capital of the Indian-administered Kashmir region, came to an end on Thursday morning after two gunmen were killed.
The attack, blamed by Indian officials on “Pakistani elements”, was the highest profile strike since the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, which claimed the lives of more than 160 people. It was the first militant attack on Srinagar for two years when armed men had stormed a paramilitary camp killing.
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Lal Chowk gunbattle ends, two terrorists killed
Peerzada Ashiq , Hindustan Times
Srinagar, January 07, 2010
In a surgical operation that lasted for more than 22 hours, security forces on Thursday claimed they have killed two Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) militants holed up inside a hotel in Srinagar after they fired at a CRPF picket at commercial hub Lal Chowk on Wednesday.
IG CRPF NC Asthana confirmed that two militants have been killed in the operation.
“We suspect one more militant has been killed but we have only recovered two bodies,” said Asthana. He said the operation took time because the security forces were busy in evacuation of civilian population stuck in the nearby building. “We ensured that before the final assault in the morning that civilians are evacuated from the nearby buildings,” said Asthana.
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Siege ends at Lal Chowk; 2 militants gunned down
Agencies Posted online: Thursday , Jan 07, 2010
Indian Express
Srinagar : Security forces stormed a hotel in busy Lal Chowk area killing two LeT terrorists including a Pakistani, ending a 22-hour fierce gunbattle that also left a policeman and a civilian dead.
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The DGP said concerted efforts were being made by Pakistani terrorists to hit targets in J and K and in other parts of the country. "There is desperation in infiltration, there is desperation in carrying out such attacks".
Khoda said the militants probably had some other target to attack, "but because of the encounter, they rushed into the hotel and took positions there to open fire at the police".
The ultras first lobbed grenades and opened fire at a CRPF picket outside Palladium Cinema in Lal Chowk before taking shelter inside the hotel.
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Fidayeen lay siege to Srinagar hotel
M Saleem Pandit, TNN, 7 January 2010,
Times of India
SRINAGAR\NEW DELHI: Two heavily armed terrorists — members of suicide squad (fidayeen) — lobbed grenades, shot dead a constable, then attacked a vehicle that came to evacuate him before entering into a hotel, triggering a fierce gunbattle — the first in over two years — in Srinagar’s business hub of Lal Chowk on Wednesday.
Initial reports indicated that the suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists wanted to enter the nearby CRPF camp. But, when they were stopped during a routine check near Pladium in the heart of Lal Chowk, they began firing and hurling grenades. They then entered the nearby Punjab Hotel, took positions and continued firing at the security forces comprising J&K police and CRPF. Soon, armoured vehicles carrying police reinforcements surrounded the hotel. Shopkeepers downed shutters and passers-by ran helter-skelter. The firing continued when reports last came in.
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While sources in security agencies said the terrorists belonged to LeT, a little known outfit, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attack in a faxed statement to local media offices.
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Terrorists were in touch with Pak handlers: Home Ministry sources
PTI, 7 January 2010, 07:25pm
Times of India
NEW DELHI: The Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists, who were killed by security forces during the siege at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, were in constant touch with their handlers in Pakistan when they were holed up inside a hotel there.
According to highly placed sources in the Union Home Ministry, nearly 700 terrorists, half of them foreign mercenaries, are active in Jammu and Kashmir.
They said some more attacks were expected to take place as the holed up militants at the hotel in Lal Chowk area had communicated the same to their handlers in Pakistan, the sources said.
According to the official data available with the Home Ministry, 413 infiltration attempts were made from across the border during which 93 terrorists were killed while 110 managed to sneak in.
Out of the 110 who had infiltrated, 70% were foreign militants while the remaining locals.
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22 hours of terror ends in the Valley
7 Jan 2010, 1133 hrs IST
Times Now (India)
After over 22 hours of fierce gunbattle between terrorists and security forces in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, the three terrorists, who struck at the heart of the city, were killed on Thursday (January 7), the Home Ministry confirmed.
The first terrorist was gunned down yesterday evening, while the other two ‘fidayeen’ identified as Qari and Mustafa were killed today afternoon. Sources said that Qari is a local Kashmiri militant, while Mustafa is a Pakistani and could belong to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
"The encounter is over. Two terrorists have been killed. We are ascertaining if there are any more terrorists inside the hotel who may be dead," Kuldeep Khooda, DGP, told reporters.
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Though Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen claimed the responsibility for the attack, Police said it was the handiwork of Lashker terrorists only.
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4 Dead After 20-Hour Gun Battle in Kashmir
By HARI KUMAR
New York Times
January 8, 2010
NEW DELHI — A 20-hour gun battle prompted by a deadly militant attack on a police outpost in Kashmir’s summer capital ended Thursday at a hotel after the police killed two militants, including one Pakistani national, Indian police officials said.
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“In this operation just two terrorists are killed, but we are trying to ascertain whether any more terrorists are inside the building” said Kuldeep Khoda, the police chief of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. Khoda also said that both militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist organization based in Pakistan that has been blamed for the attacks on Mumbai, India, in November 2008.
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Indian troops storm hotel, end siege in central Srinagar
Thursday, 07 Jan, 2010
Dawn
SRINAGAR: Commandos stormed a hotel in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday where two militants had been holed up for nearly 24 hours, killing the gunmen and bringing an end to the siege.
The four-storey hotel in Srinagar, the summer capital of the volatile Himalayan region, was on fire before police announced both extremists had been killed in a morning assault by security forces.
The gunmen – one a Pakistani and the other an Indian Kashmiri, according to police – had taken refuge in the hotel on Wednesday after throwing grenades and opening fire in Srinagar’s main market area
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A militant group, Jamiat-ul-Mujahedin, claimed it was behind the assault, which left five police and four civilians injured. Police pointed the finger at the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
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Gun and bomb attacks rock Kashmir
BBC Wednesday, 6 January 2010
On the other side of the de facto border dividing Kashmir a policeman was killed in a gun battle in Srinagar.
India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir and have fought two wars over it.
Police in Srinagar say militants threw a grenade and opened fire at police in the city's historic Lal Chowk or Red Square.
At least two gunmen are thought to have taken refuge in a hotel from where they exchanged fire with the security forces.
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