Feel the love. “House siege second major attack in three months,” from the Times of India, August 28 (thanks to Ravtish):
JAMMU: The fidayeen took care to save their ammunition, even as army officers chalked out strategies to neutralize them without harming the civilians during the stand off on Wednesday.
By 7 pm, another terrorist had been shot dead. Around 5.30 am, the terrorists, who had sneaked into India from across the border near Kanachak sector in Akhnoor, about 20km from Jammu, on Tuesday, riding a goods carrier fired at an army checkpost in the Domana-Mishriwala area. Junior commissioned officer V V Prakashan of 6 Madras was hit. He later succumbed to his injuries.
The infiltrators then hijacked a three-wheeler, fired indiscriminately killing the auto driver, local milkman Shabir Hussain, a motorcyclist Nasib Singh and an armyman Vijay Kumar, posted in Jaipur, who had come home on leave. Some locals traveling on motorbikes and a policeman were also fired at and injured.
The terrorists took shelter in the house of Billu Ram. His entire family “” wife Sunita Devi, 35, Sheetal 9, Arishal 7, Kajal 4, Vipan 3 “” was trapped alongwith with the terrorists. A visitor, Ashok Kumar (27), was also with them. Billu Ram was not at his home because he was being treated for a snake bite in hospital.
IGP (Jammu Zone) K Rajendra said that the terrorists were suspected to be the same infiltrators who had cut through the concertina wires on the border. They had taken advantage of the cover fire provided by Pakistani troops. “A high alert has been sounded in Jammu due to the terrorist infiltration from across the border,” he said.
Once the hostages are rescued, there will be a “final onslaught”, said an army officer, which in military terms means blowing up the building with rocket launchers or explosives. “This (civilian hostages) is what is holding us up from launching final onslaught. We are ready for that,” he said….