SRINAGAR, Indian-ruled Kashmir, (Islamweb & News Agencies) - At least 31 people were killed late Thursday and Friday in Indian-ruled Kashmir, where violence has spiraled since the start of the U.S. strikes on Afghanistan, Indian police said Friday.
The death toll, which included 27 Muslim Resistance men, was reported within a single 24-hour period since a Resistance attack killed 38 people at the state assembly complex on Oct. 1.
Police said Indian security forces Friday shot dead 20 Resistance men near the Pakistan border in three separate gun battles.
Clashes between the militants and security forces were continuing.
One police constable was killed and three others wounded earlier Friday when Resistance ambushed a police patrol at Chdoora, nine miles west of Srinagar.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, a front-line Kashmiri Resistance group, claimed responsibility.
A police spokesman told Reuters that four Resistance men also were killed in an encounter with security forces near Kalaban, 109 miles north of Jammu, winter capital of the state.
Also Thursday night, three Resistance men and two Indian soldiers were killed in a fierce gun battle in Rajouri district southwest of Srinagar, Indian police said.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Indian Border Security Force troops patrol the Line of Control separating Pakistan and India early November 2, 2001. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said India would not take any steps that would escalate tensions with Pakistan, but warned it would crush guerrilla violence in the disputed region of Kashmir. (Reuters)
- Nov 02 10:02 AM ET