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Suspected Islamic [Terrorists] Die in India [battle with police]
Ledger-Enquirer ^ | Sat, Aug. 30, 2003 | RAJESH MAHAPATRA

Posted on 08/30/2003 5:48:30 PM PDT by yonif

NEW DELHI, India - Two suspected Islamic militants were killed Saturday in a battle with New Delhi police, while security forces said they killed the mastermind behind the deadly attack on India's parliament in 2001 that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Indian police claimed to have killed Ghazi Baba, the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group, during a fierce gun battle in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's portion of Kashmir.

Indian security officials say Ghazi Baba has been the mastermind behind several deadly terror attacks in different parts of the country, including the December 2001 attack on India's Parliament.

At least 14 people, including five assailants, died in that attack. India blamed the assault on Jaish-e-Mohammed, another Pakistan-based Islamic militant group and Pakistan's spy agency.

All three denied involvement.

The assault brought nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan to the brink of another war. The nuclear-armed neighbors quickly massed troops on their border but intense diplomatic efforts led by the United States helped avert war.

In New Delhi, Saturday's gunfight occurred near a park after police intercepted a car in which the two militants were traveling, said Neeraj Kumar, deputy commissioner of police.

Kumar said the two men belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based guerrilla group which he said has been plotting attacks in the capital.

The militants were en route to pick up weapons seized earlier Saturday from a truck in a New Delhi commercial district, but it was unclear if the bag of explosives discovered at the city's main train station was linked, he said.

The identities of the suspected militants could not be independently verified.

New Delhi has been on high alert since Monday, when twin bomb blasts in the country's financial center, Bombay, killed 52 people and injured 150. Those attacks were blamed on Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, another Islamic militant organization fighting for independence of the Himalayan region of Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but the nuclear-armed neighbors claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

The gunfight in the Indian capital came hours after police seized a truck carrying grenades at Sadar Bazar - a trading hub in the central part of New Delhi. The grenades and other weapons were hidden inside fruit boxes, Kumar said.

Three men in the truck were detained and later revealed during interrogation that the weapons were to be handed over later Saturday to the militants.

"Accordingly, we laid a trap. When we intercepted them, they tried to flee and were killed," Kumar said.

Recent media reports have quoted police as saying that Islamic militants were plotting attacks in New Delhi, prompting tougher security checks for vehicles coming into the city.

Earlier Saturday, police on a routine patrol of the city's main train station found a bag that contained explosives weighing around 50 pounds on the railway platform. It was safely disposed of.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: freedomloving; india; religionofpeace; southasia; waronterrorism

1 posted on 08/30/2003 5:48:31 PM PDT by yonif
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To: yonif
That's two less.
2 posted on 08/30/2003 5:53:36 PM PDT by curmudgeonII
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To: yonif
"Two suspected Islamic militants were killed"

What a Great start

3 posted on 08/30/2003 5:54:53 PM PDT by ThreePuttinDude (2 Terrorists down.....Lots more to go)
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To: yonif
India has been in battle with thw mass murdering evil islamofascists for 55 years. The only good muslim.....
4 posted on 08/30/2003 6:09:57 PM PDT by friendly ((Badges?, we don gots to show no stinkin' badges!))
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To: yonif
Part of the terror wave that did not get thru.

Success in the war on jihad can be damaging to the people who stop the attacks; pressure increases to negotiate withthe jihadis.

5 posted on 08/30/2003 6:15:49 PM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: yonif
Thanks for the post
6 posted on 08/30/2003 7:31:18 PM PDT by nuconvert
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To: yonif
cool!
7 posted on 08/30/2003 7:35:10 PM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: friendly
55 years, try 1200 years...
8 posted on 08/31/2003 9:07:08 PM PDT by USMMA_83
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