05 Nov 2000

INDIA:

Six Killed In Kashmir Suicide Attack

Police said that four Indian army soldiers, including an officer, were killed early Sunday in an apparent suicide attack on a military camp by two suspected separatist militants in Kashmir. Four other soldiers were wounded and taken to a hospital.

A defense department spokesman said the two armed militants entered a camp of the 34 Rashtriya Rifles, an elite Indian army counter-insurgency group, at Handwara, 55 miles north of Srinagar. They were later killed in a shootout and two AK-47 assault rifles and two rocket launchers were recovered from their bodies. The defense department said in a statement the men were members of the Pakistan-based Lashker-i-Toiba rebel group.

Meanwhile, Indian army troops also mistakenly killed a mentally retarded homeless man in the village of Rehama in Baramulla, 35 miles north of Srinagar late Saturday. Police said a patrol shot the man when he started running when they tried to stop him for questioning, thinking he was a separatist militant.

04 Nov 2000

INDIA: 

Blast Kills Senior Party Member In Kashmir

A land mine blast in Kashmir killed a senior member of the Congress party and five party workers on Friday. The explosion took place in Magam district, 15 miles north of Srinagar. The senior party member, Aga Sayed Mahdi, was the son of the main spiritual leader of Kashmir's Shi'ite community (which comprises about ten percent of the state's majority Muslim population). Mahdi's death could spark unrest between Shi'ites  and majority Sunni Muslims. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Saturday, officials ten people were killed and 24 were injured in bomb blasts and clashes in Kashmir. Three policemen were killed and 24 injured when a bomb exploded inside a barracks at a police training school late on Friday in Baramulla district, 35 miles north of Srinagar. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A senior defense official said that five intruders were gunned down early on Saturday by Indian border guards while they tried to cross over the Line of Control (LoC) near Keri in Rajouri sector. Rajouri is 110 miles to the north of Jammu. The incident was followed by heavy mortar fire by Pakistani troops from across the border. A bomb explosion on Friday night killed two people and wounded 18 others in a village in the state's remote southern district of Doda.

03 Nov 2000

INDIA:

Several Killed In Kashmir Separatist Shootouts

Police said on Thursday that 11 people, including three Indian security force personnel, were killed in separate shootouts in India's troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. A police spokesman said: "In an encounter on Wednesday, security forces shot dead a district commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit at Surankote, a security force personnel was also killed and two others were injured in the encounter." The Surankote area is located in the state's Poonch district, about 300 miles southwest of Srinagar.

Later on Wednesday, two militants, an Indian soldier and a civilian were killed in separate gunbattles in the neighboring district of Rajouri. Two separatist militants, two civilians and a soldier were also killed in separatist violence across the region.

On Friday, four Indian troops and four suspected foreign militants were killed in two separate clashes in Kashmir. Three Indian army soldiers and two foreign militants lost their lives early Friday in a gunbattle near the central town of Wathura in Budgam District. Two AK-47 rifles and grenades were recovered from the dead rebels, whose nationality was not specified.

In a separate incident, two alleged foreign militants and a border guard were killed in another gunbattle in the neighboring village of Kothipora.

Ten Killed In Northeast As Rebels Fight Troops

According to police, at least ten people were killed and 13 others were injured on Thursday in a clash between tribal separatist guerrillas and paramilitary soldiers in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur. Militants of the out-lawed Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), who are fighting for an independent tribal homeland, set off an explosion when a three-vehicle convoy of paramilitary Assam Rifles passed through a village bordering the state capital Imphal.

A police spokesman said: "After the explosion, the PLA rebels fired at the Assam Rifles convoy from atop a hillock and the troops retaliated. In the ensuing gun battle that followed at least ten civilians, including a woman, were killed in the crossfire." Five Assam Rifles soldiers were seriously injured, while at least eight civilians were also injured. It was not immediately known if the rebels suffered any casualties. The incident took place at around 1700 hours local time (1130 GMT).

02 Nov 2000

INDIA:

Police Kill Seven Female Maoist Guerrillas In Andhra Pradesh

01 Nov 2000

INDIA:

Rebels Kill Five Policemen In Northeast

Officials said on Wednesday that tribal guerrillas killed five unarmed policemen posted at an abandoned airport in the northeast Indian state of Assam. The rebels belonging to the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) escaped after attacking the police party at Rupsi airport, about 180 miles east of the state capital, Dispur. The policemen were reportedly armed only with batons.

31 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Ten Killed In Kashmir Shootout

Police officials said on Monday that ten people, including seven Muslim militants, were killed in a lengthy shootout between Indian troops and separatist guerrillas in Kashmir. The gun battle in Banihal district, 70 miles south of Sringar, erupted late Sunday and carried over into Monday morning. Seven militants were fatally shot in the encounter. Two soldiers were also killed. One civilian woman died after being caught in the crossfire.

INDIA:

Militants Kill 18 In Northeast

Police said separatist militants killed 18 people, including three women, a child and three policemen, on Friday in three incidents of violence in India's northeast region. Nine businessmen were shot and killed in a busy market place in the town of Nalbari, about 45 miles west of Dispur, the capital of Assam state. Police said the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was behind the killing.

Earlier, Bodo militants gunned down three policemen in an ambush near Tamulpur, close to India's border with Bhutan. In Tripura state, tribal guerillas killed six people, including three women and a child, in an attack on a village about 55 miles northwest of the state capital, Agartala. Police said it suspected the killings in the village of Rajani Sardar Para were the work of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura. 

Ten Pakistani Soldiers Killed On Kashmir Border

An army official said that at least ten Pakistani soldiers were killed on Saturday along the disputed Kashmir frontier after Indian troops repulsed a Pakistani raid in the southern district of Rajouri. Between ten and 12 Pakistani soldiers lost their lives in the frontier outpost of Nowshera, some 95 miles northwest of Jammu. There were no casualties on the Indian side but one soldier is seriously injured. Pakistani officials denied any knowledge of any incursion.

INDIA:

Dozen Militants Killed In Kashmir Violence

Police said on Friday that a dozen Muslim militants were among 14 people killed in the latest incidents of separatist-linked violence in Indian Kashmir. Six Muslim militants were shot and killed by security forces on Thursday night as they attempted to cross the disputed broder from Pakistan into Tanghdar district, 90 miles north of Srinagar. Large quantities of landmines and explosives, as well as automatic rifles and grenades, were recovered from the dead.

Three separatists were killed in a raid by Indian army troops on a militant forest hideout near the northern Kashmir town of Kupwara. And two more militants were killed overnight Thursday in separate encounters with security forces in northern Kashmir. In the southern district of Anantnag a former militant turned government informer was also gunned down. A member of the police counter-insurgency Special Action Group was kidnapped from the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday night and later shot by his captors.

One Killed, 32 Wounded In Train Blast

The Press Trust of India reported that one person was killed and 32 others were wounded Thursday in an explosion on a train passing through the northern Indian state of Ounjab. Police said the blast occurred at around 1420 hours local time (0850 GMT) on a train running between the northern towns of Bhatinda and Rewari. The explosion took place near Bhatinda. Police have not yet been able to ascertain if the blast was caused by a bomb or explosives.

26 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Burmese Troops Kill Five Indian Soldiers At Border Ambush

Police said on Thursday that Burmese soldiers killed five Indian paramilitary troopers and wounded six in an ambush along their joint border late on Wednesday night. A large Burmese army contingent attacked a border post belonging to the Assam Rifles paramilitary agency in Mon district of adjoining Nagaland state. 

The police chief of Nagaland said: "It appears to be a case of mistaken identity as the Myanmarese army thought our soldiers to be outlawed militants and started firing." The Burmese troops were probably on the lookout for militants of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) along the border when they came upon the Indian outpost.

The NSCN are a group of Indian guerrillas fighting for an independent tribal homeland. Their bases are located in regions between Chin and Kachin districts in northwest Burma, bordering India's Nagaland state. Burmese authorities have launched a crackdown against the Indian guerrillas. 

24 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Troops Move Against Rebels In Assam

After armed rebels killed 16 people in a series of raids over the weekend, Indian troops launched a large-scale anti-insurgency operation Tuesday in the far eastern state of Assam. An army spokesman said troops raided several hideouts of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in eastern Assam, bordering Burma. The operation was launched in area about 340 miles east of the state capital Guwahati.

Heavily armed ULFA guerrillas on Sunday night attacked two villages in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, killing 16 people and seriously wounding ten others. The rebel group, however, denied its involvement in the weekend killings.

Troops have been put on alert in oil installations in Assam following intelligence reports that a heavily armed group of ULFA rebels had sneaked into Assam from their bases in neighboring Bhutan.

22 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Ten Killed In Kashmir Clashes And "Mule Bomb" Explosion

The army said on Saturday that at least ten people were killed in a string of gunbattles and an explosion in the restive state of Jammu and Kashmir. Suspected Muslim militants strapped explosives onto a mule  and triggered a blast on Saturday killing two border security guards and wounding four others.

The pack mule loaded with plastic explosives was sent off in the direction of a border security force post in the village of Lapri, in Udhampur district, some 95 miles northwest of Jammu. The militants then used a remote control device to blow up the mule. According to an e-mail sent to EmergencyNet News, animal rights activists in the U.S. and U.K. are said to be "incensed" at this latest tactic being used by militants.

In another incident, five militants belonging to the pro-Pakistan Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit were killed in a clash with soldiers in Surankot, some 125 miles north-west of Jammu. The army also raided a rebel hideout in Doda district, some 115 miles north of Jammu and killed three Muslim militants. The army recovered a large quantity of arms, ammunition and rocket launchers from the hideout.

20 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Separatists Threaten To Blow Up Trains In Assam

Tribal separatists in Assam threatened on Tuesday to blow up trains and railway facilities. The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) warned commuters not to travel by train as of 20 October. The group has not specified whether the threat applies only to regional trains. The threatened action is in response to the alleged torture of Bodo people by government troops. The Assam government has taken the threat seriously and increased security patrols.

14 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Five More Killed In Bihar State

The Press Trust of India reported on Sunday that five people were shot and killed by gunmen in the lawless Indian state of Bihar. State police identified those killed as lower caste Hindus and said they were shot late Saturday night in the district of Nalanda, some 35 miles from the state capital of Patna.

Heavily-armed men belonging to a private army of a feudal landowner stormed a village and opened fire on their victims, killing all five of them instantly. Eight of the attackers were arrested.

The latest murders came in the wake of a massacre of 11 Hindu men and women by Muslim gunmen in the northern Bihari town of Siwan on Friday. The police have attributed the massacre to a drawn-out feud between rival followers of an ancient poet cum religious cult leader, Sant Kabir, who has devotees both from the Hindu and the Muslim communities.

Police Seize 30 Kilos Of Explosives

New Delhi police and federal detectives on Sunday said they arrested two men and seized 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of plastic explosives intended for Sikh separatist rebels in the northern state of Punjab. A spokesman from the federal Central Bureau of Intelligence said two men were arrested in the Indian capital late Saturday.

The CBI said 30 kilograms of the powerful plastic explosive RDX and a cache of weapons were recovered from the men. The cache was said to had been passed on to the active militant Babbar Khalsa group in Punjab. In a cryptic reference to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the spokesman said: "It appears that it was a desperate attempt on the part of foreign intelligence agencies to revive Sikh militancy in a big way. Had the consignment reached the right hands, it would have led to the revival of militancy in Punjab."

The spokesman added that the arms and explosives could have been used by the militants to create terror not only in Punjab but also urban centers across northern India, including New Delhi. 

Tribal Guerrillas Move Base To State Bordering China

Officials said on Sunday that tribal rebels from various militant groups were shifting their bases to the far eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, previously untouched by separatism. The outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) were said to be moving into Arunachal Pradesh from nearby states.

The tiny state, bordering China and Burma, had so far remained peaceful with no insurgent groups active in the area. The ULFA militants, who operate in the state of Assam, started recently to shift their camps to Arunachal Pradesh after  Indian and Bhutanese troops renewed a joint crackdown against the powerful group. The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh said he has urged New Delhi to deploy additional forces to clear the state's thick jungles of the guerrillas.

The minister said: "We want the Center to provide us army along with additional paramilitary units to launch a counter-insurgency operation and drive out the militants from our state." 

13 Oct 2000

INDIA:

12 Muslim Militants Among 19 Killed In Kashmir

Police and army officials said on Thursday that at least 12 Muslim militants were among 19 people killed in the troubled Indian state of Kashmir in separatist-linked violence. Six Muslim militants were killed on Thursday in separate clashes with Indian soldiers in Kashmir's northern Budgam, Baramulla and Doda districts. Three soldiers were also injured in the encounter at Baramulla.

Six militants were shot and killed by soldiers on Thursday in a shootout in Mohar, in Udhampur, some 80 miles north of Jammu. Authorities said it was a two-hour long operation to seek and destroy a militant hideout in the area. One Indian soldier was killed in the opearation. The militants who died belonged to the pro-Pakistan Jash-e-Mohammed and Al Bader groups which were working together in the Kashmir valley.

More than 50 militants have been killed in the past week across the Kashmir valley -- a figure police attribute to an increasing number of militants moving down from their mountain hideouts before the onset of winter...

11 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Suspected Muslim Militants Fire Rockets At Kashmir Border Town

Police said on Wednesday that suspected Muslim militants fired a series of rockets at residential areas in the southern Kashmiri border town of Rajouri. At least five rockets were fired on Tuesday night. Two houses were damaged in the attack, but there were no reports of any casualties. Rajouri, some 95 miles northwest of Jammu, has been subjected to militant rocket attacks in the past, but this was the first time a residential area had been targeted rather than a military installation.

At least 11 people were killed in militancy-related incidents across Kashmir on Tuesday. According to a police, security forces cordoned the village Pazalpora Bandipore, in Baramulla district, while conducting search operations during which they were fired upon by militants. The security forces returned fire and in the ensuing encounter, three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed. Three AK rifles and other ammunition were recovered from their possession. In the exchange of fire, two houses caught fire and were gutted. 

In a similar incident in Dardpora Lolab, security forces were fired upon in Ganai Mohalla. One militant was killed after they returned fire. In an encounter at Chanjloo Gujjar Basti Banihal, two foreign militants of LeT were killed  Two AK rifles and ammunition was recovered. Three unidentified militants were killed in another encounter at Khari Buzla in the same area.

Terrorist Held With RDX

A 26-year-old man identified by the police as a member of the terrorist group Tehriq-ul-Mujahideen was arrested with a bomb, made out of RDX in New Delhi. Acting on information from an intelligence agency, Delhi Police Special Cell officers arrested one Ali Mohammad Bhatt while he was waiting for an accomplice at about 22:00 hours local time Tuesday night.

He was carrying an Improvised Explosive Device, fitted with a pencil-timer, in the form of a box. It was also fitted with shrapnel and eight 0.315-caliber cartridges (Ed. Note:??). The Bomb Disposal Squad of the Delhi police had to be summoned to the scene to defuse the device.

Special Cell officers subsequently raided Bhatt's hotel room and recovered cash. Bhatt's interrogation revealed that he was a medical student completing his second year at Srinagar. His brother was a militant who was killed by security forces in January 1999. Within two months, Bhatt had joined the ranks of militants.

10 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Three Border Guards Killed In Militant Attack On Bus

Three Indian border guards were killed and four others were seriously wounded when Muslim militants triggered an explosive device on Monday under a bus in Kashmir. More than 30 Border Secuirty Force (BSF) personnel were traveling on the bus.

In another incident, one civilian was killed and two others were injured in cross-border firing by Pakistani troops in a frontier district 20 miles south of Jammu. 

Small Explosions Rock Supreme Court

Officials said as many as three small explosive devices were thrown at an entrance to the Supreme Court in the capital New Delhi on Tuesday by an unidentified man who was arrested by police. A few people sustained minor injuries from the blasts. A 25-year-old man was arrested.

09 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Eight Militants Among Nine Killed In Kashmir

Indian security forces said on Friday they had shot and killed eight Muslim militants in Kashmir, while one civilian was killed in a separate incident of secessionist-related violence in the region. In one encounter near the town of Bandipur, about 30 miles north of Srinagar, six militants were killed by an army patrol on a search and destroy operation. The militants were said to be members of the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba outfit. One Indian soldier was injured in the shootout.

Another two militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the district of Kupwara, near the disputed border with Pakistan. More than 50 militants have been killed in the past week across the Kashmir valley -- a figure a police spokesman attributed to an increasing number of militants moving down from their mountain hideouts before the onset of winter. Suspected militants killed a civilian in Kupwara overnight Thursday.

08 Oct 2000

INDIA:

U.S. To Share Intelligence On Terrorist Camps

In what is seen as somewhat of a shift in U.S. foreign and military policy, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Sunday that the United States will share satellite photos and intelligence reports on Muslim fundamentalist terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan with India. The newspaper said: "The step would be a tangible manifestation of the mutual concern between the US and India about the situation in Afghanistan, and India's concerns about the Taliban and its links with international organizations."

The report added that the "highly classified information that Washington would normally keep to itself" would enable India to deal with pro-Pakistan foreign militant groups operating in the restive Indian state of Kashmir. The newspaper quoted a U.S. official as saying that Washington would help Indian forces "get a sense of the type of weaponry and the modus operandi that they would be up against" in dealing with terrorists trained in Afghanistan and the camps bordering Pakistan... 

(Article continues in ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT, Sunday, October 8, 2000, Vol. 6, No. 283 -- Please see www.emergency.com/ennpage.htm for information on how to obtain our daily reports) 

05 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Seven Wounded In Kashmir Grenade Attacks

Police said Muslim militants on Wednesday launched a series of grenade attacks in the restive Indian state of Kashmir and wounded seven people, including four paramilitay personnel. The militants threw hand grenades at a paramilitary jeep in Srinagar injuring three people. No group has taken responsibility for the attack.

Earlier on Wednesday, militants attacked a liquor shop in Srinagar injuring four people. A group of seven or eight militants fired at least four grenades at the liquor shop. Two paramilitary personnel and two civilians were seriously injured in the attack. A spokesman for the pro-Pakistan Jamait-ul-Mujahdeen militant group said it had targeted the liquor shop. The spokesman said: "We destroyed the liquor shop. Dozens of people have been injured. Islam prohibits liquor consumption and we will strictly impose the ban on drinking."

03 Oct 2000

INDIA:

Nine Maoist Rebels Killed In Fighting In Bihar

The Press Trust of India reported on Monday that at least nine people were killed in fighting between rival Indian Maoist insurgent groups in eastern Bihar state. The killings occurred late Sunday night in villages ringing the state capital of Patna. Bihar police added that an unspecified number of people were also injured in the clashes. 

Left-wing guerrillas belonging to the rival People's War Group (PWG) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) fought with swords and daggers in the villages of Barepura, Shahwajpur and Mehdipur. Police said the two outlawed groups, who have been locked in a war of attrition in Bihar for almost ten years, attacked each other following the assassination of a local PWG supporter earlier on Sunday.

Security Forces Kill Four Militants In Kashmir

An army spokesman said that Indian security forces shot and killed four alleged Pakistani Muslim militants crossing the disputed border into Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. The encounter occurred in the border district of Samba, some 30 miles east of Jammu. Other members of the militant group managed to escape back across the border into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Series of Real-time Emergencynet News Reports Concerning the Skyjacking of Indian Air Flight 814 - 24 Dec 99 to 04 Jan 2000 

July 27, 1999: INDIA/PAKISTAN: DETAILS OF HOW CLOSE ALL-OUT WAR CAME IN KASHMIR

Series of EmergencyNet News Reports of Escalating Conflict Between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir Region - 23 May, 1999 to 04 June 1999