Kashmiri bombers thwarted
A bomb attack has been thwarted and seven people have been killed in Kashmir in continuing violence before India’s Republic Day celebrations on Monday.
Rockets and explosives were also recovered in the Indian-adminiatered region on Saturday by Indian forces as they mounted heightened vigil in view of the celebrations.
In one attack, two suspected Kashmiri militants were killed by security forces in southern Kashmir overnight, a police spokesman said.
“The two were planning to carry out a suicide attack on some vital installation,” he said.
Another fighter was shot dead in southern Doda district.
Suspected Kashmiri fighters shot dead three people, including a teenage student and a woman overnight.
They also shot dead an Indian paramilitary member in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian Kashmir.
Significant haul
In the capital Srinagar, paramilitary forces recovered 45kg of deadly explosives, eight rockets and other arms and ammunition, spokesman Tirtha Acharya said.
The recovery was made nearby a stadium, where the main Republic Day celebrations are to take place in Srinagar.
“The explosives were stored in a women’s hospital with the aim of disrupting the celebrations on Monday,” Acharya said.
The conflict in Kashmir has raged for years, killing more than 38,000 people since 1989.