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| India-Pakistan |
| Commandos kill gunmen in Hindu temple after 30 die in raid |
| 2002-09-25 |
| Indian commandos last night stormed a Hindu temple in Gujarat killing two gunmen who, in a 14-hour siege, killed 30 people and wounded more than 70. When people go to a church or a temple, they're less likely to be armed, y'know... Witnesses reported heavy firing between the National Security Guard commandos and the gunmen in the early hours at the temple in the state's commercial capital of Gandhinagar. The commandos, flown in earlier from Dehli, to end a siege which had continued since the late afternoon assault by the gunmen, who were armed with automatic weapons and grenades. The violence  in which Indian officials said six women and four children died  prompted fears of more slaughter in the fractious western state. That's the whole idea... "The two attackers were killed shortly after daybreak," said Brigadier Raj Sitapathy, who led the commando raid. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but India's deputy prime minister blamed the attack on Pakistan and linked it to the elections in disputed Kashmir. My guess would be the usual suspects, Lashkar e-Taiba or Jaish e-Mohammad... Until the commando assault, the attackers had controlled part of the temple complex and had been trading fire with the troops and snipers had surrounded them. A police official said that up to 50 people had been taken hostage. Brig. Sitapathy told The Associated Press that two letters were recovered from the attackers, whose identities have not been determined. He said the gunmen were "clean shaven, dressed in civilian clothes and appeared to be in early 20s." I'd suspect the letters were a plant. If I was going to kill 30 or 40 people and expected to be knocked off myself, I wouldn't be carrying a letter indicating where I came from... Deputy Prime Minister Lal K. Advani, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, described the shooting as a suicide attack. "The enemies of the nation feel that the developments in Jammu and Kashmir are strengthening India's viewpoint, and that a big attack could divert attention from there. I see in this a very deliberate design," he said. See? Advani's not very bright, but it doesn't take a 3-digit IQ to figure that... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |