India Police Kill Two 'Pakistan Militants' Near Delhi

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Source: AFP

NEW DELHI (AFP) — Indian police shot and killed two suspected Pakistani militants near the capital New Delhi Sunday, as thousands of troops were deployed on the eve of a national holiday to prevent extremist attacks.

Brij Lal, a senior police officer in Uttar Pradesh state, told reporters an anti-terrorist team chased a car carrying two men towards the capital before intercepting it in the suburb of Noida, 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the city.

He said passports recovered from the vehicle indicated the two dead men were Pakistani, and police were investigating if they had links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Pakistan-based militant group India blames for the Mumbai attacks.

"They are definitely Pakistani but unless we examine the documents we cannot come to any conclusion (whether they belonged to LeT)," said Lal.

"The team asked the terrorists to surrender," Lal said, but they started firing at officers, and the two men were shot in a fierce 30-minute gun battle in a nearby field. One officer was injured in the crossfire.

The operation was triggered by a tip-off and the militants died on the way to hospital, he added.

Police said they found two AK-47 assault rifles, five hand grenades and detonators in the car.

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