Indian Forces Resume Srinagar Siege

16/01/2005| IslamWeb

Two missing soldiers have been found dead as Indian forces tried for a second day to flush out fighters holed up in a sports complex in Indian-administered Kashmir. The bodies of the soldiers were retrieved by firefighters early on Sunday morning. The firefighters extinguished a fire that broke out minutes after a dawn operation against the fighters resumed in the region's capital, Srinagar. Security officials said one of the fighters, thought to be from an obscure group called al-Mansurin, might have been killed in retaliatory fire. Hundreds of police and paramilitary forces had ringed the complex soon after at least two fighters hurled grenades and forced their way in on Saturday. The complex was being used as barracks by the military and is close to where a parade is to be held to mark India's Republic Day on 26 January. **Overnight calm*** The operation had been suspended on Saturday night for fear security forces could suffer casualties during the night. The fighters had taken positions inside a two-storey building within the complex, which also houses India's regional passport office. At least three security officers were injured in the initial firefight. The Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar's high-security Wazirbagh district houses the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Kashmir's inspector-general of police, Javed Ahmad Makhdoomi, said the passport office caught fire during fighting on Sunday morning. **Celebration targeted*** CRPF Deputy Inspector General SS Singh said one of the fighters had been shot dead. Asked if the body had been found, Singh said that would be possible only after the fighting stopped. Several other buildings, including hotels, are in the area. Most were requisitioned as temporary barracks for thousands of Indian forces brought in more than 15 years ago to combat the uprising by Muslim fighters. Kashmiri fighters seeking independence from Indian rule have stepped up attacks in the run-up to Republic Day, which they describe as the "black day". The area is routinely sealed off by the security forces days ahead of India's national holidays to keep the fighters at bay. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Indian police officers gather during a gun battle with militants holed up inside government building in Srinagar, January 16, 2004. (Reuters)