| The Masked Marauders™ resort to violence against most things, don't they? |
 Militants opposed to a bus link joining parts of Kashmir controlled by rivals India and Pakistan set off bombs and fought gunbattles with troops yesterday, two days before the service was due to start. The bus service, due to be launched tomorrow, is the most visible sign of progress in a slow-moving peace process between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, who have fought two wars over Kashmir in the last half a century. But militants fighting against Indian rule in the disputed territory have repeatedly threatened to sabotage the service and kill passengers, saying the transport link served India's aim to hold on to Kashmir.
| Any sort of normal life seems to serve India's aim to hold onto Kashmir... |
Nine militants and two Indian soldiers were killed separately across the region in the last 24 hours, security officials said, adding that they expected militants to mount more attacks to intimidate people and derail the service.
| There's lots more cannon fodder to be burned. Nine's not much of a dent... |
Separatist violence had dipped in Kashmir over the last year, coinciding with peace talks between India and Pakistan. But over the last 10 days at least 57 people - mostly guerrillas - have been killed and another 50 people wounded as violence has increased. Suspected militants set off a home-made bomb on the route of the cross-border bus service, wounding seven road workers digging by the highway near Pattan town. The bomb went off less than an hour after soldiers defused two powerful land mines a few miles away on the same mountain road, causing security forces to further intensify patrols even as militants issued a fresh threat. "A major tragedy was averted," Neeraj Sharma, a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman, said referring to land mines defused by BSF soldiers. |