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Six killed as militants attack Jammu railway station

By Luv Puri

Jammu Jan. 2. Four security personnel were killed and 14 critically injured in an attack by militants on the Jammu railway station this evening. Six of the injured were police personnel.

Witnesses said that at 7.05 p.m., terrorists sneaked into the railway station, opened fire indiscriminately and lobbed hand grenades.

An Army contingent arrived in 15 minutes and took control of the operation. Two militants were killed. Over 700 people including railway officials were evacuated. The injured were shifted in bullet-proof vehicles. The Army cordoned off the station spread over a two km stretch.

Talking to The Hindu, the DIG (Jammu-Kathua range), Farooq Ahmed, said, "We killed two terrorists while four security personnel, including one Army personnel died. We have cordoned off the area as the possibility of more terrorists hiding somewhere in the railway premises is not ruled out."

The attack came when the Jamshedpur-bound Tata Mori Express was ready to leave. Panic gripped the station and passengers ran helter-skelter. Police personnel on duty fired in the air to avoid civilian casualties, before the Army moved in.

The Army and the militants exchanged fire for over two hours. The search operation was affected on account of darkness and fog. All trains from Jammu were cancelled. A red alert was sounded in the city.

This is the third such attack on the railway station. In August 2001, militants carried out a similar attack and killed nine persons, including two Army men. One terrorist was killed while another escaped.

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