Kashmir: Militant attack on police station kills four

Militants attacked a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing four people in the first major attack since a new coalition government took over power in the state this month.

The two attackers were killed after a gun battle that lasted four hours, officials said.

Ten others, including a senior police official, were injured in the attack.

The attack began at 06:00 local time [12:30 GMT] on Friday in Kathua district in the state’s Jammu region.

The militants used guns and grenades to attack the Rajbagh police station, officials said.

The dead included a policeman and two paramilitary soldiers, they added. A civilian was also killed in the attack.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament that “two militants have been gunned down by our security forces”.

Indian media reports said the police station was close to the border with Pakistan.

The attackers came dressed in military uniform, Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The attack is the first in the state since India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party took power this month in a coalition government with the regional People’s Democratic Party.

The Himalayan Kashmir region is administered in parts by India and Pakistan but the territory is claimed in whole by both.

Kashmir has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, and although violence has gone down considerably in the past few years, there have been occasional attacks by militants.

In September 2013, three militants were shot dead after they stormed a police station in Kathua and an army camp in Samba district and killed at least 10 people.

BBC