Militants have massacred about 250 individuals, including a few children, in a small village in the Kashmir valley. Though the exact details are still being pieced together, a quick talk with the survivors revealed that about 20 militants entered the village after midnight, went into the houses simultaneously and using modern rapid-shooting guns, started killing people indiscriminately.

They also decapitated a few people and then set fire to as many houses as they could. The smell of burning flesh was thick in the air wherever this correspondent went and charred bodies and bones were strewn all around.

From the few survivors' accounts and the method of massacre, it is believed that this is the handiwork of the Harkut group headed by Maulana Masood Ashraf, who hit the headlines last December, when some colleagues of his hijacked an Indian Airlines plane to Khandahar in Afghanistan and released the hostages in exchange for Ashraf and two of his friends.

It is now evident that the two other incidents last month where a total of 49 people died at the hands of militants were also the work of his team.

Experts however are unsure about Ashraf's whereabouts. "He seems to be constantly on the move", a highly placed official told this correspondent, on condition of anonymity. Another spokesman said, "This is the price we are now paying for releasing him."

Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee paid a hurried visit to the site and said, "No efforts will be spared to recapture Ashraf." He offered his condolences to the survivors and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh for every dead person.

Meanwhile efforts are on to give a decent burial to the deceased in keeping with religious traditions.

Special Correspondent

Army Caught in Ambush: 25 Killed
Srinagar, 31 December 2000, Times of India.
Twenty-five army personnel including a high-ranked general were caught in an ambush yesterday and killed. According to informed sources, they were on the trail of Maulana Masood Ashraf who had hit the headlines around the same time last year, when he was released in exchange for 157 hostages who had been hijacked in an Indian Airlines plane, by a few of his friends.

Ashraf has been responsible for more than five known militant attacks and over 400 dead people, in different areas of the Kashmir Valley, in the last six months or so. Though, the army and the Indian government have left no stone unturned in their efforts to capture him, little progress seems to have been made. Two days ago, the army claims to have received a strong lead regarding his current hiding place. An operation was planned to flush him out, but the wily Ashraf turned tables on the personnel sent to capture him and killed them in a cross fire. A few innocent bystanders were also killed.

The Harkut yesterday issued a press statement through its website, saying that this ambush was planned to mark the anniversary of their successful hijacking operation last year. This was their retribution for Ashraf's four years in jail in India. It is believed that the anniversary of his release will be celebrated in a similar manner every year for the next four years.

The wife of one of the deceased, General K Singh was distraught. The one thing she kept repeating over and over again in Punjabi was "Why did the Indian Government have to release him last year? How many more people are going to die?" Another general said, "If we had been involved in the talks with the hijackers last year, this may not have come to pass."

Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee sent his condolences and expressed anguish at the incident. He said, "Such acts of terrorism will not be tolerated. We will take strong action against all those who pose a threat to our sovereignty." The opposition has asked for his resignation on moral grounds.

Meanwhile, efforts to flush Ashraf out have been further stepped up. Unfortunately each day that he goes free means the deaths of some more innocents.

Special Correspondent