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Monday, Aug 15, 2005

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Seven civilians killed in J&K

Staff Reporter

Militants target far-flung areas of the State

JAMMU: Seven civilians have been killed in the past 48 hours in Jammu and Kashmir in a sudden upsurge in violence by militants. These areas had been targeted even in the past before the Independence Day.

The militants targeted far-flung areas taking advantage of the gaps in the counter-terrorism grid due to the terrain. They attacked two houses of Village Defence Committee (VDC) members, killing five persons and injuring nine, including three children in Udhampur district. The injured have been airlifted and admitted to the Medical College hospital. One of the injured, Jammu Naseeb Singh, told The Hindu that this was the second time that Shajru village in Udhampur district had been attacked before the Independence Day celebrations. They had been apprehensive about an attack even this time. "We fought till the end with arms and ammunition but we did not have enough ammunition to hit back," he added.

Two civilians were killed while a VDC member was kidnapped in Kulhand village in Doda district. Mohd Ashraf Hajam, 32, and Parvez Ahmed, 16, were dragged out of their houses and killed. The kidnapped villager, Abdul Majeed, a resident of Gandoh tehsil, was taken to a near by forest area. His tongue was chopped off before he was released.

Pilgrimage stopped for a day

The authorities have stopped the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage for a day as a precautionary measure. Though police officials said it had been stopped due to the heavy rush, sources said there had been intelligence inputs that militants might attack the shrine.

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