Terrorists kill 24 in India-controlled Kashmir
( 2002-07-14 09:06 ) (8 )

Terrorists struck again in the India-controlled part of Kashmir Saturday night, killing at least 24 people and injuring 31 others, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported early Sunday.

The dead included 12 women, 11 men and a 3-year-old child, the agency said in a dispatch just after midnight on Saturday from Jammu, winter capital of the India-controlled Kashmir, 580 kilometers northwest of here.

A group of at least three heavily armed militants entered a populated area of Jammu from nearby hills at around 19:30 p.m. local time on Saturday and opened fire indiscriminately at the densely populated slum dwellers colony, PTI said.

Police and security forces rushed to the area and were engaged in a gunbattle with the militants for nearly four hours. However, the militants escaped under the cover of darkness.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

The attack is the worst since May 14, when militants attacked a bus and an Indian army camp near Jammu in which 32 people were killed.

Tense relations between India and Pakistan escalated following the May 14 attack, which pushed the two sides to the brick of war.

The latest attack and killing occurred at the time when United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Secretary are scheduled to visit New Delhi and Islamabad later this month.