Terrorists Take 5 Hostages in Kashmir

Things just keep getting worse in Kashmir. Three terrorists dressed up as police officers killed a rickshaw driver and the passenger, an Indian soldier on leave, and then barricaded themselves in a nearby home taking 5 hostages. A gun battle ensued between the three terrorists and Indian security forces, one of the terrorists was killed in the gun battle. New York Times

NEW DELHI -- Tensions in the deeply polarized Jammu and Kashmir State in northern India worsened Wednesday as suspected militants barricaded themselves in a house on the outskirts of Jammu city and held five civilians hostage, including four children.

An Indian Army spokesman, S.D. Goswami, said by telephone from Jammu that at least five people had been killed, including one of the suspected militants. Television reports from Jammu indicated that gunbattles continued through midday local time in a densely populated residential neighborhood, with soldiers battling the gunmen holed up inside a two-story house.

The hostage taking comes amid two worrying trends. Relations between India and Pakistan, rivals who both claim the Kashmir region, have steadily deteriorated in recent months and there have been competing protests by Hindu and Muslim groups inside the Indian-ruled portion of Kashmir.

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The hostage crisis began Wednesday morning, according to Mr. Goswami, when three gunmen, dressed in police uniforms, hailed a motorized rickshaw and and killed its driver and passenger _ an Indian soldier who was home on holiday. It was unclear whether the soldier was targeted.

The militants then holed up in a private house, along with a family living inside. One of the militants was killed in a gun battle with security forces who surrounded the house. Two others were believed to be still inside. An Indian soldier also died in the exchange.