Malang
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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- A 48-hour hostage standoff at a mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir ended early Tuesday with the death of three militants and the rescue of the two hostages, a police official said.
"All the hostaged civilians have been safely rescued from the Palnu village mosque, where three militants had taken them hostage on Sunday," said Hemant Lohia, deputy inspector general of police south Kashmir range. "The three holed-up militants were killed in a gun battle around midnight, and their bodies have been recovered."
There was no damage to the mosque except for broken window panes, Lohia said.
The tense standoff began early Sunday in the Kashmir village of Palnu, about 50 miles (80 km) south of the capital Srinagar, when the Indian army and police surrounded the mosque on a tip militants were hiding inside.
Security forces were fired upon while cordoning off the area, and a trooper and a civilian were injured.
Militants seized five civilians who took shelter inside the mosque to escape the crossfire. Three eventually managed to leave the mosque.
Militants have been taking shelter inside mosques and shrines in Kashmir throughout the past 18 years of armed violence against Indian rule.
While Kashmiri authorities estimate that 42,000 people have died during the separatist violence, various human rights groups and other organizations have put the number at more than 80,000.
Kashmir mosque siege ends - CNN.com
Malang
"All the hostaged civilians have been safely rescued from the Palnu village mosque, where three militants had taken them hostage on Sunday," said Hemant Lohia, deputy inspector general of police south Kashmir range. "The three holed-up militants were killed in a gun battle around midnight, and their bodies have been recovered."
There was no damage to the mosque except for broken window panes, Lohia said.
The tense standoff began early Sunday in the Kashmir village of Palnu, about 50 miles (80 km) south of the capital Srinagar, when the Indian army and police surrounded the mosque on a tip militants were hiding inside.
Security forces were fired upon while cordoning off the area, and a trooper and a civilian were injured.
Militants seized five civilians who took shelter inside the mosque to escape the crossfire. Three eventually managed to leave the mosque.
Militants have been taking shelter inside mosques and shrines in Kashmir throughout the past 18 years of armed violence against Indian rule.
While Kashmiri authorities estimate that 42,000 people have died during the separatist violence, various human rights groups and other organizations have put the number at more than 80,000.
Kashmir mosque siege ends - CNN.com
Malang
