INDIA: Paramilitary personnel shot dead five unidentified suicide gunmen yesterday after they stormed a religious site in northern India that is claimed by Hindus and Muslims and remains a flashpoint for sectarian tension.
Officials said the sixth attacker, who was a "human bomb" laden with explosives, blew himself up as his accomplices attacked the disputed Ayodhya complex, 375 miles east of New Delhi, triggering a two-hour firefight with police.
The identity of the assailants, who are believed to have come dressed in police uniforms, was under investigation. Senior intelligence sources said the attackers' modus operandi "indicated" the involvement of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT or Army of the Pure) militant group, which "could impact negatively" on the ongoing peace talks between the two neighbours.
The LeT is one of several Muslim militant groups fighting the 16-year insurgency raging in northern Jammu and Kashmir state, divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both.
A Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman condemned the Ayodhya attack, however, saying Islamabad was "against terrorism in all its forms".
The six attackers arrived by car and an explosives-laden jeep.
One blew up the jeep, killing himself and blowing a hole in the outer security wall through which his accomplices stormed the 80-acre complex.
Officials said three soldiers were injured in the ensuing shoot-out, one of them seriously. But none of the scores of worshippers lining up outside the shrine on Tuesday - a Hindu holy day - was hurt.
The Ayodhya complex houses a makeshift temple to the Hindu god Ram, built after a 16th-century mosque was pulled down by Hindu fanatics in 1992. The mosque's demolition set off sectarian rioting across India in which over 2,000 people died and led to the disputed site being placed under constant guard.
Following intelligence, the federal government has issued a security red alert to prevent an outbreak of communal violence.
Appealing for calm, prime minister Manmohan Singh said it was fortunate the attack was foiled.