SRINAGAR: Ten persons, including three women, were killed in crossfire between the militants and the Army near Handwara in north-west Kashmir Oct.1, according to an official spokesman. He said some houses were also gutted when paddy stacks were hit by rocket-propelled grenades. One Jawan was killed and two injured in the encounter, he added.
The government has announced x gratia payment of Rs.1 lakh to the dependents of each of those killed and free rations for one month to those whose houses were gutted.
Earlier, militants ambushed an Army convoy at Bat hoot, three km from Handwara, and killed two army men. Three army men were injured in the attack,
The spokesman said security forces killed an infiltrator in the five-kilometer belt along the Line of Actual Control and recovered a rifle from him,
Meanwhile the Hizbul Mujahideen Oct.2 withdrew its ultimatum to foreign tourists whom it had given a 72-hour deadline to leave the Valley. The Withdrawal comes in the wake of sharp reactions from the Jamaat-i-Islami leader, Syed Ali Geelani.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1992
