SRINAGAR, Feb 1 (1993): Indian border troops shot dead six people and set a dozen Moslem-owned homes on fire during a gun battle with Moslem militants in this northern Indian state, police and residents said Monday.
Senior police officer Niaz Mehmood said an investigation has been ordered into the overnight incident in Shopian, 60 kilometres (36 miles) south of Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital and an urban hub of Moslem insurgency.
National television said the six killed were senior militant leaders, and described their deaths as a major breakthrough in anti-secessionist operations in Kashmir.
It said 22 other wanted Kashmiri militants belonging to the outlawed Hezbul Mujahedeen faction were arrested during the Sunday evening sweep.
Sunday’s clash in Shopian follows a rampage by Indian paramilitary troops in the town of Sopore last month which left 42 civilians dead.
More than 100 houses and stores went up in flames in Sopore when BSF troops set them on fire on January 8 after a patrol was attacked by militants.
New Delhi has ordered a high-level investigation into the incident. The BSF claims the houses caught fire when a stray bullet hit a building packed with explosives belonging to the militants.
Moslem militants are spearheading a drive for secession of Kashmir, India’s only Moslem majority state.
