Hezbul Mujahideen's local commander Tariq Aziz was killed in a gunfight with the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the village of Ratnipora, about 50 kilometres south of Srinagar, said Indian police said. The police claim could not be independently verified. On Thursday, police had reported that three militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba had been gunned down by Hezbul Mujahideen militants.
| "Yar! Go fer yer guns, Mahmoud!... Ow!... Ow!... Aiiiieeee! Rosebud!" |
The Hezbul Mujahideen, however, rejected the report, saying the rival militants were killed in a gunbattle with Indian soldiers.
| "Nope. Nope. Never happened..." |
Separately, suspected militants fired at an army patrol in Nagbal village, killing one soldier and wounding two others, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. A police spokesman said at least two of the rebels involved in the attack had sought refuge in a house in Nagabal village, southern southern Pulwama district, and were firing on soldiers trying to flush them out. More reinforcements had been sent to the streamside village, where the standoff began early on Saturday after soldiers discovered the insurgents during a cordon and search operation.
Meanwhile, in Srinagar, the Indian police detained senior separatist leader Javed Mir, who was protesting along with two dozen supporters against this weekend's talks in New Delhi, witnesses said. Mir and few of his supporters were bundled into a police vehicle while his other supporters were dispersed by baton-wielding police, witnesses said. "India and Pakistan cannot resolve the issue of Kashmir without our inclusion," Mir said just before he was detained. "We have to be included as our future is at stake." |