Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=02/10/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=India Kashmir (L-only)

NUMBER=2-272396

BYLINE=Anjana Pasricha

DATELINE=New Delhi

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

//Editors: Please watch for changing casualty figures and adjust accordingly in the intro//

INTRO: In Indian Kashmir's capital city Srinagar, government commandos have regained control of the police headquarters that was stormed by Muslim separatists. Anjana Pasricha reports at least eight Indian policemen and two Muslim separatists were killed in the attack.

TEXT: At dawn Saturday, Indian troops launched an assault on the main police building in Srinagar which had been raided by several gunmen.

Authorities say, the gunmen drove up to the main gate of the high security complex late Friday in a car - then burst into the complex after lobbing grenades on police guards and opening fire.

Security forces moved back into the police complex after a night of intense

exchanges of gunfire with the militants. The compound houses sophisticated communications systems, offices of senior police officials and police barracks. Troops searched the area for other attackers.

The Pakistan-based militant group, the Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for the daring attack, saying it was carried out by a

six-member suicide squad in a joint operation with the Alumar Mujahideen. A spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Taiba says the attack was in retaliation for the killing of what he called innocent Kashmiri detainees by Indian police.

It was the third attack on a high-profile security target carried out by

suspected Muslim militants since late November, when India announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region.

Kashmir's Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah says the attack on the police control room was aimed at scuttling the peace process initiated by New

Delhi.

Muslim militants are opposed to the ceasefire, and violence on the ground has continued despite the peace move by the Indian government.

More than 30-thousand people have been killed in Kashmir since a Muslim insurgency flared in 1989. Kashmir is a disputed region divided between

India and Pakistan. (signed)

NEB/AP/PLM