Posted on 09/16/2003 10:45:34 AM PDT by swarthyguy
Tue September 16, 2003 10:54 AM ET SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Suspected Muslim separatist guerrillas in Indian Kashmir beheaded two people, one of them a teacher, Tuesday in the latest violence in the disputed Himalayan region, police said. The teacher was abducted in the Anantnag district, south of Kashmir's main city Srinagar, and later beheaded because the rebels suspected he was an informer for the security forces, a police spokesman said.
A villager in a neighboring district was beheaded by militants also because he was suspected of being an informer, he said.
About a dozen Muslim rebel groups have been battling security forces in Indian Kashmir since 1989.
There has been a surge in violence in the region in recent weeks, throwing into question tentative peace steps between India and Pakistan, which nearly went to war for a fourth time last year, over Kashmir.
In another incident a civilian was killed and 14 people were wounded when suspected Muslim rebels threw a grenade in a crowded Srinagar street, police said. No rebel group claimed responsibility.
Seven militants, three soldiers and two civilians were killed in other clashes across the region late Monday and on Tuesday, police said.
India accuses Pakistan of arming, training and sending guerrillas into Indian Kashmir. Pakistan denies doing so.
Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have improved slightly in recent months but India has linked fresh talks to an end to attacks by the rebels in Kashmir.
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