Gunmen kill 2 in Kashmir

Published October 9, 2002

DODA/BATOTE, Oct 8: Gunmen disguised as policemen stormed a polling station, gunning down two Indian soldiers, on Tuesday as turbulent elections wound up in occupied Kashmir.

The attackers hurled grenades and fired wildly at the entrance of the polling station in the town hall in Doda.

Indian troops shot dead one of the attackers, who lay on the ground in a pool of blood and searched for the other who raced through the building, spraying bullets, before fleeing outside.

They later carried away the dead man and covered the blood with sand.

More than 600 people have been killed since the polls were announced in early August.

But apart from the town hall attack, voting was relatively peaceful in Doda, an Indian official claimed.

About 90,000 soldiers were on duty in the district, seen as one of the most volatile areas that went to the polls.

Polling stations were sandbagged and election officials wore flak jackets and helmets in Doda. Police frisked voters and sharpshooters watched from rooftops.—Reuters

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