Six die in Kashmir hotel gun battle

Indian troops set fire to a hotel in Kashmir’s summer capital today after a gun battle with Islamic guerrillas that left six people dead.

The clash erupted soon after a meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and top administrators from 35 Indian states and territories that took place just two miles away.

The violence came despite tight security for Vajpayee’s visit to the strife-torn Himalayan region.

Two guerrillas hurled a grenade outside Srinagar’s main telephone exchange and took refuge in the hotel while security forces cordoned off the area, state police chief Gopal Sharma said.

The dead included the two rebels, a soldier, a former MP whose office was located inside the hotel, and his two guards, Sharma said.

Al-Mansurian, a little known guerrilla group, claimed responsibility for the explosion.

More than a dozen guerrilla groups have been fighting since 1989 for Muslim-majority Kashmir’s independence from predominantly Hindu India or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. More than 63,000 people have died in the conflict.