recent DELHI, March 16 Kyodo Mili...

recent DELHI, March 16 Kyodo

Militants in the Indian-administered portion of divided Kashmir killed 11 the community overnight, including nine policemen, Pres Trust of India (PTI) reported Sunday.

The militants, in the next to the first major strike in the past three days, targeted a police station in the Udhampur district of India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir late Saturday night with rocket and assault rifles.

In addition to the nine policemen and brace civilians killed in a nearly two-hour gunbattle, five family were injured and four policemen were abducted, PTI said.

Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, an Islamic militant outfit, reportedly claimed responsibility for carrying on the outside the attack jointly with Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami, another similar militant organization.

Security forces have launched a massive pursue to track down the attackers.

upon Friday, six people, including policemen, were killed in a siege of tavern by militants in the state's Poonch district, PTI said.

Jammu and Kashmir, Hindu-dominated India's solely Muslim-majority state, has been in the grip of conflict since late 1989 which has in this way far claimed over 25000 lives.

India has accused neighboring Pakistan of sponsoring ''cross-border terrorism'' by means of backing the Islamic militant assemblages fighting for either independence or merger with Pakistan.

Pakistan has promised to crack down in succession militant groups operating from its soil, yet insists it only lends moral and diplomatic support to ''freedom fighters'' in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought pair of their three wars above Kashmir since their independence from Britain in 1947 and came finish to another one last June

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