Comes as a surprise, huh? I know. Floored me, too...
A grenade exploded at a crowded market in the summer capital of Indian-held Kashmir, killing one shopkeeper, while security forces shot dead 10 suspected militants in gunbattles Thursday elsewhere in the Himalayan region.
"Mukkerjee... Those turbans..."
"The ones with the automatic weapons and explosives, sir?"
"Yes. Those. I suspect they were militants!" |
The violence came a day after a cease-fire between Indian and Pakistani soldiers went into effect along their border. India had said, however, that despite the accord it would continue to hunt down suspected militants crossing into Indian Kashmir from Pakistani territory.
| Unless they're shot in front cannons, of course... |
Suspected hard boyz militants hurled a grenade at a security checkpoint at Lal Chowk, Srinagar’s commercial hub, but it missed its target and hit a shop, killing its owner and wounding nine passers-by, senior police officer Javed Ahmed said.
"Mahmoud, you missed the cops and blew up the shop owner!"
"Sorry, boss."
"You always miss the cops and blow up somebody else!"
"Cheeze, boss! I only got the one eye!"
"Well, put your patch over the one that's missing!" |
The condition of two of the wounded was serious, he said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which police blamed on separatist rebels fighting for Kashmir’s independence, or merger, with Pakistan.
And, Mukkerjee?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Those militants... I suspect they may have been separatist rebels, working for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan."
"Brilliant, sir. Brilliant." |
Earlier Thursday, four suspected snuffies rebels were killed in a pre-dawn gunbattle in Nowgam, a frontier village 60 miles north of Srinagar. In a nearby town, Hundwara, a police officer was also shot to death by unidentified gunnies gunmen, Ahmed said. Separately, four militants were killed after a gunfight broke out when a joint patrol of police and Indian army spotted a group of guerrillas in a remote mountainous area of Udhampur district, said a police officer. Also, paramilitary soldiers from the Border Security Force shot dead two suspected krazed killers militants near the Ghat area of Doda district, about 100 miles northeast of Jammu. One soldier was also wounded.
| Just another day in the charnel house... |
The gunfights came a day after a cease-fire between the armies of India and Pakistan both of which claim the Himalayan Kashmir region in its entirety went into effect. The 700-mile Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, remained calm, however. |