இரண்டு குழந்தைகளும் தாத்தாவும் காஷ்மீர் இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிகளால் கொலை

இரண்டு குழந்தைகளும் தாத்தாவும் காஷ்மீர் இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிகளால் கொலை

Two children, grandfather die in Kashmir in suspected rebel attack
1 day ago

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — A nine-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl were among three members of a Muslim family killed in a grenade attack by suspected militants in Indian Kashmir, police said Friday.

The attack which killed the girls and their grandfather at their home in southern Reasi district late Thursday came as the Indian government reported overall violence is dropping in the insurgency-hit region.

"Suspected militants hurled a hand grenade at the house of a village defence committee member, injuring eight people," a police spokesman said.

Three of the wounded died before they could be transported to hospital, the police spokesman added.

The condition of the injured survivors was not immediately known.

The father of the two dead girls belonged to a village defence committee, set up by the central government to counter Islamic separatist militants in remote villages in the Himalayan territory.

The father was also injured in the attack.

The rebels have in the past targeted defence committee members and their families.

The committees were established in the mid-1990s after a spate of massacres in the Hindu-dominated southern districts of the state by suspected rebels.

Both Hindus and Muslims volunteered as members and each is given a rifle and paid 1,500 rupees (36 dollars) a month.

Kashmir is in the grip of an 18-year-old insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 43,000 people dead by official count.

India has reported violence overall has declined in the region since nuclear-armed India and Pakistan -- which each hold part of Kashmir but claim it in full -- began a peace process in 2004.

The two countries have fought two of their three wars over the scenic Himalayan territory.