Author: Times News Network and
PTI
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 2, 2001
Introduction: Terror compass swings
to the Valley, 29 dead, 30 hurt Militants cornered
In a daring daylight attack, a suicide
squad of the Jaish-e-Muhammad militant outfit stormed into the Jammu and
Kashmir assembly complex here on Monday afternoon leaving about 29 persons
dead and injuring 30. The death toll could go up as most of the injured
were in a critical condition, sources said.
Besides the suicide bomber, three
security men, a traffic constable and a college girl were among those killed.
According to sources, National Conference MLA Sadiq Ali is believed to
be among the injured.
About four militants came to the
assembly complex at about 1.45 p.m. in a multi-utility vehicle. Three of
them, dressed in police uniforms, alighted from the vehicle and started
running towards the assembly building, firing indiscriminately and throwing
hand-grenades on the way. The fourth, who was in the driver's seat, exploded
his RDX-laden vehicle at the main gate of the assembly complex, killing
himself.
Immediately after entering the assembly
complex, which was guarded by the CRPF, the militants targeted all those
who came in their way before they were cornered by the security forces
in one of the buildings inside the complex, the sources said. The police,
however managed to rescue about 100 staff members of the state assembly,
including the speaker's secretary, M. Iqbal Gania, and three MLAs, through
the real three hours later. One of the MLAs rescued was a woman, Bimala
Luther, the sources said.
Assembly speaker Abdul Ahad Vakil
was believed to be in the complex at the time of the attack but it was
not immediately known whether he was among the persons rescued by the BSE
Most of the ministers, MLAs and senior officials appeared to be safe as
they had left the complex just before the attack, which apparently took
everybody, including security personnel, by surprise.
Claiming responsibility for the
attack, a spokesman of the Jaish outfit told a local news agency here that
four of their fidayeen (suicide squad) militants had undertaken the task
of storming the state legislature. The name of the suicide bomber who was
killed in the vehicle is Wajahat Hussian alias Saifullah, a Pakistani national.
The entire area was cordoned off'
by the security forces to flush out the three militants hiding inside the
complex, DIG R. S. Bhullar of the Border Security Force (BSF) said.
Firing was still going on inside
the assembly complex at the time of filing this report.
The vehicle used by the militants
carried a number plate with 'Telecommunication Department' inscribed on
it, the DIG said. It apparently belonged to the telecommunication department's
executive engineer Kulbhushan Khar. According to sources, militants disguised
as security personnel had hijacked the vehicle ten minutes before they
carried out the attack.
