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| wise words ::. | | What is the difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has limits. - Albert Einstein. |
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| headline. | 25/09/02 |
Troops storm Temple, shoot massacre gunmen
Gandhinagar Sept 25 : ndian commandos stormed a Hindu temple complex Wednesday, ending a siege and killing two gunmen who had burst into the building and massacred 29 people and wounded more than 70.
The gunmen were in their early 20s and carried letters in Urdu, a language used by Muslims in South Asia, in their pockets, according to a Reuters reporter who saw their bloodstained bodies dragged out by police.
Officials said the name of a previously unknown group calling itself the Tehrik-e-Kasas (Movement of Revenge) was found written in the letters.
"We are trying to find out more about the organization whose name has been mentioned," Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani told reporters.
The raid on the Akshardham Temple in western Gujarat raised fears of heightened tensions with Muslim Pakistan and fresh religious violence in the state where at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in February and March.
Without explicitly naming Pakistan, Advani said "enemies of the country" were behind the attack, which occurred in his constituency.
Pakistan condemned the assault and denied any part in it.
The two gunmen, hurling grenades and firing AK-47s, burst into the vast pink-sandstone temple complex during evening prayers Tuesday, shooting indiscriminately at pilgrims inside.
For the next several hours, as scores of people trapped inside hid and prayed for their lives in assorted rooms, the gunmen moved about the complex, firing at police who were massed outside.
"They kept on lobbing grenades and firing indiscriminately on us till 1 a.m. The firing eased a little bit after that. We exchanged fire with the militants throughout," said Brigadier Raj Seetapathy, who headed the anti-terrorist force at the temple.
"They kept on moving about the temple premises shifting positions," he said. "Both of them were killed around 5 a.m."
The attack was the most serious since a December raid on the Indian parliament by alleged Pakistan-based Islamic militants which triggered a military build-up between India and Pakistan and nearly led to war in June between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Indian security forces combed the building in search of hidden explosives and searched the two gunmen.
A Reuters reporter on the spot saw police pulling out a letter in Urdu from the pocket of one of the gunmen. Police said both men were carrying letters in Urdu.
The clean-shaven gunmen were also carrying dried fruits, sweets and Indian notes and coins in their pockets.
Seetapathy said they were very heavily armed and appeared to be well trained.
Police tightened security across the country in case of further attacks and to head off the risk of communal violence.
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| notices. | 25/09/02 |
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