Srinagar gun battle ends; 4 dead

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Last updated on: January 16, 2005 19:32 IST

Security forces on Sunday evening gunned down both al-Mansoorian terrorists who had stormed the regional passport office in Srinagar.

Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel were also killed in the gun battle, which began on Saturday afternoon. Their bodies were retrieved from the passport office.

The standoff ended when one of the two terrorists who had sneaked out of the office and taken shelter in a nearby building tried to escape and was shot, official sources said.

The other terrorist's body was found in the half-burnt office in the morning, the sources said.

Three paramilitary personnel and a civilian were injured, Srinagar district police chief Syed Ahmad Syed said.

"Deafening sounds of explosions and the incessant boom of guns kept us awake. The fighting has now stopped," Javed Ahmed, a local, told rediff.com

An al-Mansoorian spokesperson identified the two terrorists as Nayeem Ahmad of Handwara and Mohammad Sabir of Srinagar.

The passport office is housed in Kashmir's only indoor stadium next to the Bakshi Stadium, the main venue of the Republic Day function.

Two terrorists of the same outfit had stormed the income tax office in Srinagar last week and fought a pitched battle for more than 25 hours before being killed by security forces. Five persons -- four security personnel, including a deputy commandant of the Border Security Force and an employee of the I-T department -- were also killed.

With inputs from the Press Trust of India

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