June 7, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25,1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

SRINAGAR, June 6: Nine people, including two Indian soldiers, were killed in occupied Kashmir on Thursday night and Wednesday.

Mujahideen killed the two soldiers in an ambush at a village near Shopian, a township 50kms south of Srinagar, on Wednesday night.

Indian troops sealed off the area to track down the fighters, but the search was called off on Thursday morning after troops failed to find any of the attackers.

Mohammed Rafiq Lone, commander of Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami, was killed in an encounter with Indian police and paramilitary forces on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday, police said.

Lone, from the district of Doda, was wanted over a number of attacks and had escaped police custody two years ago, they said. Indian troops also claimed killing A freedom fighter near Bandipora township, 60kms north of Srinagar.

Police said unidentified men had shot dead four people in Baramulla, Kupwara and Doda since Wednesday.—AFP