TIPS to search 200  million Web pages fast!

Militants kill five truck drivers in J&K

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Five truck drivers, including four Sikhs, were pulled out of their trucks and shot by a group of unidentified militants on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Sheerbibi late Tuesday evening.

The militants separated Hindus and Sikhs before opening fire.

Official sources said some unidentified gunmen stopped the trucks carrying supplies to Kashmir near Sheerbibi and asked the drivers to come out.

They then separated Hindu and Sikh drivers and opened fire on them from automatic weapons.

Five drivers were killed on the spot, while six others received serious injuries.

The news reached Banihal and Ramban late in the night and police parties were rushed to the spot.

The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital.

The killings follow the announcement of a cease-fire during the holy month of Ramadan by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Several frontline militant groups have rejected the offer and have threatened to intensify their activities.

The Jammu range police chief R V Raju said one of the two drivers identified so far belonged to Baramullah in the Valley. The other belonged to Talwandi in Punjab.

Complete coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report