SRINAGAR, INDIA - Security forces killed two suspected Islamic militants after a long siege on the mosque where they holed up in northern India. A civilian died in the cross fire, police said. <br>
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Witnesses said the mosque in Totigund, located 70 miles north of Srinagar in Jammu-Kashmir province, suffered minor damage in the 10-hour shootout Friday. Police lifted the siege on Saturday. <br>
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The two militants were identified by police as Ghulam Shakoor and Shabir, residents of Sialkot, Pakistan, and members of the Pakistan-based militant organization Jaish-e-Mohammed, a police official said. The civilian was identified as Totigund resident Asadullah Dar. <br>
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Efforts were made to end the siege peacefully, including a group of villagers who entered the mosque to try persuade the militants to surrender, said R.S. Bhullar, deputy inspector-general of the Border Security Force. <br>
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The militants refused and opened fire on security forces. <br>
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``They were throwing grenades and firing at us from inside. But we were careful to avoid any damage to the building,'' Bhullar said. <br>
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The two militants were killed after army sharpshooters were called in to help. <br>
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The Jaish-e-Mohammed group is one of more than a dozen Islamic militant groups fighting India since 1989 for Indian Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of training and funding the militants, a charge Islamabad denies. <br>
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The United States considers Jaish-e-Mohammed a terrorist organization with close ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. The group also is banned in Pakistan.
