Five mercenaries behind Sikh massacre killed

SRINAGAR, MARCH 25: Five top foreign mercenaries, suspected to be involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the Kashmir Valley early this week, were on Saturday killed in a gun-battle with security forces at Panchaltran, 82 km from here, a Defence Ministry spokesperson here said.

All the militants were in combat uniform and involved in the March 20 night massacre at Chattisinghpura village, 70 km from here, in Anantnag district, he said. He said five rifles, two wireless sets and five grenades were recovered from the militants’ hideout which was blasted by security forces.

Police did not rule out the possibility of more militants being involved in the encounter as the operation was still continuing.

Acting on a tip-off provided by Mohammad Yaqoob Wagey, who is believed to have taken part in the massacre and was arrested by the authorities on Thursday, the security forces cordoned off the house where the militants were hiding and launched the operation to flush them out ensuing a heavy gun battle between the two sides.