October 1, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 23, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

AHMEDABAD, Sept 30: The two militants who last Tuesday attacked a temple in Gujarat state were on a suicide mission aimed at causing casualties but not destroying the building, an investigator said on Monday.

Ahmedabad Forensic Science Laboratory director Dr J.M. Vyas said the men, who mowed down 31 people before they were shot dead by commandos the next day, knew they would be killed.

“It is very clear that the terrorists had embarked on a suicide mission and did not have any plans to escape,” Vyas said.

“They were not carrying any communication device with them to inform any waiting vehicle or person after completing their job,” he added.

Preliminary investigations, he added, showed the militants had entered the sprawling temple in Gandhinagar to cause casualties but not to destroy the temple.

“The handgrenades that were used by the assaulters could not have damaged any building. They must have been used to target 15-20 people at a time,” said Vyas.

He said his team was busy studying clues gathered at the site.

“Two AK-56 (rifles) have been recovered from the site. This helps us establish that the firearms were of Chinese-make,” said Vyas.—AFP