Twenty-two people died and 52 were wounded in a string of landmine explosions and gun battles in troubled Jammu and Kashmir state yesterday ahead of Indian Independence Day ceremonies tomorrow.
Ten guerrillas were killed in a mountain shootout, a government defence spokesman said. Cornered by troops, the rebels were trying to fight their way out of a pass in the Pir Panjal range that divides Jammu from the Kashmir valley.
At least five soldiers were killed and 45 injured in two blasts in southern Kashmir, after militants opposed to Indian rule threatened to disrupt tomorrow's independence celebrations.
The first landmine blast hit a Border Security Force (BSF) vehicle near Kud, 100 km east of Jammu, the state's winter capital. Three security men were killed on the spot and one died of his injuries on the way to hospital, police said.
The pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen guerrilla group, which ended a 15-day truce last week, claimed responsibility for the blast. A spokesman claimed the mine had killed eight policemen and wounded 35.
Thousands of armed policemen and paramilitary personnel are being deployed across Srinagar for tomorrow's celebrations, which Kashmiri militants have vowed to disrupt for the 11th consecutive year of the insurgency, which has claimed over 30,000 lives. "We expect more violence as militants want to make a statement by carrying out an attack on Independence Day," a border security force official said. Already there had been more damage done in the run-up to this year's August 15th festivities than in the last two years, he added.
The security forces carried out house-to-house searches for weapons and explosives in Srinagar and locals were advised to keep off the streets. Hundreds of armed guards cordoned off a large area around Bakshi Stadium where the chief minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah, will hoist the Indian flag.
More than 75,000 security men and six air force helicopters have also been deployed across New Delhi where, by tradition, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, will address the nation from the ramparts of the 17th century Red Fort in the Old City.
Intelligence officials have warned of bombings and even an assassination attempt by a Sikh sniper who they claimed has joined Kashmir's most dreaded insurgent group, the Lashkar-eTaibyya (Army of the Pious), based in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The gunman is believed to have sneaked into Delhi.
India, meanwhile, has pulled out of next month's Sahara Cup cricket series against Pakistan, which was due to be played in Toronto, and ruled out all sporting ties with its neighbour for the "foreseeable future".
The Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, said no Indian wanted such links until Pakistan ended cross-border terrorism. Pakistan denies giving any support other than moral, diplomatic and political.
