Srinagar Gunbattle Ends, Two Militants Killed
The 22-hour long gun battle between militants and security forces in Srinagar has come to a close as security personnel stormed the hotel in Lal Chowk where militants had taken shelter and killed two of them, one of them Pakistani, said reports.
Reports said that the security agencies identified Paksitani terrorist through wireless intercepts as Qari while the other was named as Usman from Sopore.
Earlier in the morning, Hotel Punjab in the busy Lal Chowk situated in the heart of the city caught fire as the security personnel moved closer to the militants who taken shelter in the top floor and were throwing grenades and firing.
Officials said that the operation which launched by police and paramilitary CRPF to neutralise the militants, was suspended at around 11 PM yesterday, but was resumed at 0700 hours today.
The security forces stormed the hotel before noon and conducted room to room searches after people from nearby buildings were evacuated.
