Indian State Releases a Top Kashmiri Separatist
SRINAGAR, India — The new government in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state freed a prominent separatist leader from prison Monday as Islamic militants who also seek independence for the Kashmir region killed 13 parliamentary police in a bomb attack.
Yasin Malik, an icon to thousands of Kashmiri youths, was released eight months after his arrest for allegedly laundering money to finance terrorism.
His release was an attempt by the new government to ease tensions in the region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, and stem a tide of violence.
The bomb exploded along the state’s main highway as police traveled in a truck near the town of Ramsoo, about 80 miles south of Srinagar, said Neeraj Kumar of the Border Security Force. In addition to the 13 dead, five police officers were injured.
The Pakistan-based Hezb-ul-Moujahedeen, the largest guerrilla group in Kashmir, claimed responsibility for the attack.
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