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Three terrorists holed up in a village mosque in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir freed four civilians, including the imam of the shrine, who sought to negotiate their surrender, after keeping them hostage for several hours.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police for Kupwara and Baramullah districts, Mohammad Amin Shah, said a person, supposedly a terrorist killed in retaliatory action by security personnel, was a villager who had died of cardiac arrest near the besieged Jamia Masjid at Tutigund village.
He said the standoff between the terrorist, possibly foreigners, and the security forces continued. "We tried our best to end the crisis peacefully and sent in civilians to persuade the terrorists to surrender, but they refused," Shah said.
He said efforts were on to ensure the safety of the mosque.
The ten-hour siege took a dramatic turn at one stage when the terrorists held hostage four civilians sent inside by the authorities with an appeal to surrender, official sources said.
However, the terrorists let off the civilians without any harm, but hardened their postures by throwing grenades and firing at the troops. There were no casualties, they said.
The trouble started around 8.30 am when Border Security Force personnel had a chance encounter with the terrorists. The terrorists escaped and took shelter in the local mosque with the troops on hot pursuit.
Major General Dalvir Singh, who was supervising the operation, directed the troops to exercise restraint and avoid damage to the place of worship, the sources said.
Gen Singh repeatedly appealed to the militants to lay down arms. "We will wait till you come out of the mosque and surrender," the officer was heard telling the terrorists through a public address system.
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