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Police marksmen ran for
cover as shots rang out inside the parliament
building |
2001: Suicide attack on Indian
parliament |
England have
A group of gunmen has broken through tight security to attack the
parliament building in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
At least 12 people have been killed and 22 injured in the attack.
There were about 100 members of parliament in the building at the time,
although none is believed to have been hurt.
The gunmen are thought to have used a fake identity sticker to get
through tight security surrounding the parliament complex.
Wearing military-style fatigues, they burst into the area in front of
the parliament just before noon local time (0630 GMT).
Witnesses said one was wearing explosives strapped to his body and blew
himself up soon after the men broke in.
A gun battle began between the attackers and police, in a dramatic
hour-long standoff broadcast live on television.
Indian government officials said the remaining four gunmen were killed
in the fighting, along with six police officers and a gardener.
Parliamentarian Kharbala Sain was in the building when the attack
began.
"I heard a cracker-like sound near the entrance, then I saw people
running helter-skelter," he said.
"I saw many people firing at the same time. I couldn't make out who was
who. I couldn't understand who the terrorists were and who the police
were. My mind went blank."
The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, made a televised
address to the nation shortly after the attacks, and was quick to denounce
the militants.
"This was not just an attack on the building, it was a warning to the
entire nation," he said. "We accept the challenge."
No group has admitted carrying out the attack, which comes just two
months after a similar assault on the Kashmir state assembly in Srinagar,
in which 38 people died.
Many have suggested that Kashmiri militants may also be behind today's
attack.
Some politicians have called for action against Pakistan, suspected in
some quarters of arming and training the militants.
The two countries have fought two wars over the disputed state of Jammu
and Kashmir since independence in 1947, and came to the brink of a third
war in 1999.
But Pakistan has condemned the attack and denied any involvement. It
says it will act on any credible proof of the involvement of militant
groups based on their soil.