Ayodhya attack mastermind killed
Islamic rebel commander suspected of masterminding the Ayodhya attack is dead, said Kashmir police.
By Agencies |
SRINAGAR: An Islamic rebel commander suspected of masterminding an attack on a top Indian religious site two years ago was killed Saturday in a gunbattle with police in revolt-hit Kashmir, police said.
The dead man, identified as Saifullah Kari, was believed to have planned the attack in which militants blasted their way into a heavily guarded religious complex in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya on July 5, 2005, police said.
"Saifullah Kari, divisional commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed, was killed in an encounter," a police spokesman said in Srinagar, summer capital of Kashmir where a revolt has raged against New Delhi's rule for nearly 18 years.
Kari died in fighting that erupted early on Saturday after police raided his hideout in Jammu, winter capital of Indian Kashmir, he added.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of a dozen rebel groups in Kashmir. None had claimed responsibility for the strike on Ayodhya in northern India that is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims and has long been a religious flashpoint.
Five militants and a sixth unidentified person died in the Ayodhya attack. Police had blamed the Ayodhya incident on another rebel outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India accuses of staging a deadly raid on its parliament in 2001.
Police said Kari was planning attacks in Jammu to coincide with 60th anniversary celebrations marking India's Independence Day next week.
Kashmiri militants observe the anniversary as "black day" and often stage attacks in the days surrounding the event.
"Kari's four associates have been arrested," the spokesman said, adding the raid was carried out by police from New Delhi and Kashmir.
The insurgency in Kashmir has left more than 42,000 people dead, according to official figures.
The dead man, identified as Saifullah Kari, was believed to have planned the attack in which militants blasted their way into a heavily guarded religious complex in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya on July 5, 2005, police said.
"Saifullah Kari, divisional commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed, was killed in an encounter," a police spokesman said in Srinagar, summer capital of Kashmir where a revolt has raged against New Delhi's rule for nearly 18 years.
Kari died in fighting that erupted early on Saturday after police raided his hideout in Jammu, winter capital of Indian Kashmir, he added.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of a dozen rebel groups in Kashmir. None had claimed responsibility for the strike on Ayodhya in northern India that is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims and has long been a religious flashpoint.
Five militants and a sixth unidentified person died in the Ayodhya attack. Police had blamed the Ayodhya incident on another rebel outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India accuses of staging a deadly raid on its parliament in 2001.
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Police said Kari was planning attacks in Jammu to coincide with 60th anniversary celebrations marking India's Independence Day next week.
Kashmiri militants observe the anniversary as "black day" and often stage attacks in the days surrounding the event.
"Kari's four associates have been arrested," the spokesman said, adding the raid was carried out by police from New Delhi and Kashmir.
The insurgency in Kashmir has left more than 42,000 people dead, according to official figures.
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