02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

SRINAGAR, March 1: Indian troops shot dead on Monday a commander of Kashmir's dominant group, officials said.

India's Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead Abdul Rashid, a senior leader of Hizbul Mujahideen in a clash that erupted after security forces raided a freedom fighters hideout in occupied Kashmir's central Budgam district, they said.

"Rashid was serving as battalion commander for Hizbul," BSF spokesman Tirtha Acharya said, accusing him of involvement in many killings and "motivating and even forcibly recruiting the youth for militancy."

There was no immediate comment on Rashid's death from Hizb, the major Kashmiri group fighting New Delhi's rule.

Meanwhile, suspected freedom fighters shot dead a man and his son in a village in southern Pulwama district late on Sunday, a police spokesman said.

GRENADE ATTACK: Sixteen people were wounded in occupied Kashmir on Monday when suspected Kashmiri fighters hurled a grenade at a security patrol and missed their target, police said. The grenade exploded near the main women's hospital in Srinagar, hitting bystanders and causing panic.-AFP