Terrorists gun down J-K minister

SRINAGAR: Signalling a wanton desperation to make their presence felt, terrorists armed with AK 47 assault rifles, an IED and a bagful of hand grenades barged into the house of state education minister Ghulam Nabi Lone early Tuesday, killing him almost immediately.
Lone���s neighbour and CPM MLA from Kulgam, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, who was the first target of the attack, narrowly escaped unhurt.While two security men were killed in the exchange of fire, one of the two terrorists was later shot dead after a prolonged encounter. The other managed to escape after dumping his weapons in a nearby compound.
It was an obvious attempt by terrorists, steadily losing ground in the face of peace initiatives by Pakistan and India, to show they���re still around. Already unhappy with the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad peace bus, they were uncomfortable with reports lapped up by India that their camps across the border had been damaged in the earthquake.
The attack, that took place around 9.15 am, itself wasn���t extraordinary apart from the fact that the two fidayeen terrorists came into the highly-fortified Tulsi Bagh compound with remarkable ease. The residential colony in the heart of Srinagar primarily houses ministers, legislators and senior bureaucrats.
"I heard fire shots while I was shaving," said Nazir Ahmed Bhat, general secretary of the state Congress unit. Bhat saw the entire episode from close range. "I immediately came out to see what was happening and got to know that militants had entered the locality. Their aim was to harm some ministers," he said.