SRINAGAR, Sept 22: Twenty people were killed in a fresh surge of violence in occupied Kashmir on Sunday and Saturday night, two days before the second round of voting for the held state’s assembly.

Indian troops claimed killing 12 Mujahideen in clashes, including one of two who launched a brazen attack on a police compound in Srinagar.

A 12-hour siege of a police complex housing hundreds of families ended on Sunday, with a policeman and a militant dead and eight policemen injured.

The two militants, disguised in police uniforms, appeared at the gates of the residential complex in the Bemina area of Srinagar on Saturday evening, opening fire and hurling a handgrenade at the sentries, injuring two of them.

The militants later managed to get into the complex of dozens of buildings housing policemen and their families and opened fire intermittently in the darkness.

A little-known group, Al Madina Regiment, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In other incidents, Mujahideen ambushed a paramilitary convoy at Bijbehara, killing two troopers from the Border Security Force, a spokesman for the force said.

A separate assault on a patrol in Poonch left dead one police official.

In Shopian, unknown men threw grenades and fired at the residence of ruling National Conference legislator Sheikh Rafiq on Saturday night, police said.

The grenades damaged windows and the assailants fled when guards returned fire.

There was also an attack on the home of a Congress candidate, Mohammad Shafi, with grenades and AK rifle fire in the same town on Sunday.

Shafi was not home during the attack that damaged two cars in the compound.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a ruling party block president, Ghulam Ahmed Paray, in the village of Bandgam, Budgam district.

Paray’s killing is the 33rd of pro-India political workers since Aug 2, when India announced dates for the Kashmir election.

The Indian army claimed killing four members of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, including a self-styled “district commander”, in two encounters in the Poonch district.

The slain “commander” was identified as Abu Talawat.

In another clash, Indian troops shot dead three Mujahideen in Anantnag district, a police spokesman said.

A teenage boy was killed in the crossfire and two other people were injured.

Four more militants were killed in encounters around occupied Kashmir on Sunday, police claimed.

Two Muslim boys, aged 14 and eight, also died on Saturday while they were playing with an explosive device in the Kalaroos area of Kupwara district, police said.—AFP