By IANS
Srinagar : Militants have taken five civilians hostage in a south Kashmir mosque where their standoff with security forces continued for the second day Monday.
Three guerrillas of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit had taken shelter in the mosque in village Palnu near Yaripora Kulgam, 80 km from here, after security forces chased them Sunday afternoon.
“There was a brief exchange of fire (Sunday) resulting in injuries to a security person. Reinforcements were rushed to the spot and the mosque was surrounded,” said a senior police officer.
“There was intermittent firing and some civilians entered the mosque to take shelter. The civilians were not allowed to leave by the militants.
“We have offered them food on humanitarian grounds and the militants have agreed to allow it in,” the officer said.
Authorities here say that efforts were on to persuade the holed up guerrillas to set the civilian hostages free.
“We are weighing all options, and if need be we will flush them out,” said the officer.