Militants kill 12 in attack on IoK police station

SRINAGAR: Militants disguised as soldiers killed twelve people in an attack on a police base in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) Thursday, days before long-awaited talks between the leaders of India and Pakistan, police said.

The militants, all wearing army fatigues, lobbed grenades and opened fire at the Hiranagar police station, around 200 kilometres (126 miles) from the main city of Srinagar, an officer in the police control room said.

"We can confirm that five policemen and two civilians have been killed in the attack," the officer told.

A Lt Col of Indian Army among five soldiers were also killed in the attack near Samba Sector, sources added.

The attackers escaped after hijacking a truck and were now engaged in a fierce gunbattle with Indian troops in the Samba district, Indian media reported.

It was not immediately clear how many militants were involved in the attack.

The attack will cast a shadow over an expected meeting this weekend between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the first such top-level talks in three years.