Six killed as militants storm Hindu shrine

In a likely suicide attack, unidentified militants blew up a security fence today and stormed a northern Indian Hindu shrine at the heart of a bitter sectarian dispute, setting off a fierce gunbattle with security personnel that left five other attackers dead.

Police found the remains of a man they believe either deliberately or unwittingly triggered the blast that launched the assault, said Jyoti Sinha, chief of the Central Reserve Police Force at the Ram Janmbhoomi shrine in the city of Ayodhya. Sinha’s paramilitary force guards much of the site, which is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.