At least 23 dead as gunmen storm temple

Gunmen stormed a crowded Hindu temple and opened fire, killing at least 23 worshippers today in a western Indian state where hundreds of people were killed in religious rioting this year.

With 40 people injured and 150 worshippers still inside the temple, more than 200 commandos swarmed into the sprawling temple complex, in the city of Gandhinagar in Gujarat state, setting up positions around the main temple, said RB Brahmabhatt, the city’s acting police chief.

Deputy Prime Minister Lal Advani, described the shooting as a suicide attack. He said the attackers, armed with hand grenades and AK-47 rifles, had taken up positions on the roof of a building inside the complex.

“Twenty-three people are dead,” Advani said, including six women and four children. “The terrorists are still inside,” he said. He said 500 people had been evacuated from the complex.

Advani said the attack appeared tied to state elections being held today in Kashmir, the only majority Muslim state in largely Hindu India, and a scene of regular violence.

“The enemies of the nation feel that the developments in Jammu and Kashmir are strengthening India’s viewpoint, and that a big attack could divert attention from there. I see in this a very deliberate design,” he said.

India alleges that its neighbour, Pakistan, sponsors Muslim terrorists in Indian territory. Islamabad denies the allegation.

Advani appealed for calm between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, where religious violence killed hundreds of people earlier this year, many of them Muslim.

“I hope people will understand that communal conflict would serve the interest of those who do this.”

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but fears spread quickly in Gujarat that the attack would ignite still more violence.

“This is adding kerosene to a burning fire. There will be trouble in the riot-prone areas,” said Maya Desai, a student in Ahmadabad, about 15 miles) from the scene of the attack.

“Shops are closing. Everyone is telling each other ‘Come on, go home.’ Anything can happen now.”

Witnesses said the attack took worshippers completely off guard.

“I saw five gunmen inside,” said 25-year-old Balwant Shukwant Patel, who was rescued by security forces soon after the shooting began. “We were sitting under a tree when they started firing indiscriminately. We thought someone was setting off firecrackers. People started running here and there.”

Details were hazy, with officials unsure of exactly what was going on inside much of the main temple.

“Our first priority is to see that the people who were worshipping inside are brought out safely,” said junior Interior Minister ID Swamy. “We cannot fire indiscriminately like the terrorists. No one should be hurt in the crossfire, that is very important.”

TV showed bloody bodies - including policemen and priests being brought out on stretchers from the main Swaminarayan Temple. Many wounded limped out, their clothes stained with blood. Policemen and commandos crouched behind bushes as they slowly moved toward the temple.

Shooting continued from inside the temple as night fell, and soldiers set up powerful spotlights around the scene.

“We assume that three terrorists are inside. They opened fire with assault rifles,” said Brahmabhatt.

Gujarat state witnessed vicious religious rioting earlier this year, sparked in late February when a Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu activists.

That attack set off a wave of reprisal killings and rioting, in which Muslims were the main victims. In total, about 1,000 people were killed, according to government estimates.

State intelligence officials had warned of reprisal attacks by Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups.

Today’s attack raised fears that if Islamic rebels were involved, it could spark renewed attacks on Muslims in the state, where relations remain tense between Hindus and Muslims.

About 240 state commandos surrounded the temple and policemen took positions on trees circling the 23 acre complex, police said.

An unnamed paramilitary official, speaking after coming out of the temple, said he saw “many bodies and many injured,” but declined to give numbers. He said security forces had taken control of a quarter of the main temple .

The temple, an ornate sandstone complex, is enormously popular among Hindus, with thousands of worshippers arriving every day.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee congratulated Kashmir voters for their courage in casting ballots despite Islamic militants’ threats to kill them.

“Irrespective of who wins, it is clear to the whole world that the ballot is winning a resounding victory over the bullet,” Vajpayee said after the second round of a four-phased election.

The next rounds will be in October.

Islamic militants – who have fought for 13 years to merge India’s only Muslim-majority state with Islamic Pakistan or make it independent – had threatened to kill candidates, poll workers and voters.

Vajpayee said 37 political activists and 66 security personnel had been killed, and another 100 people injured in 400 “incidents of terrorist violence” since the elections were announced on Aug. 22.

Despite that, 42% of the 3.58 million people registered to vote in the first two phases have cast their ballots, according to the federal Election Commission.