|
[ti:] |
|
[ar:] |
|
[al:] |
| [00:00.00] |
The sound of gun shots and explosions |
| [00:02.90] |
echoed through the centre of Srinagar |
| [00:05.08] |
after gunmen opened fire in Lal Chowk, |
| [00:07.37] |
the main square in the city's commercial district. |
| [00:10.27] |
After a relatively quiet period in Kashmir, |
| [00:13.69] |
there have been several recent attacks - |
| [00:15.92] |
four soldiers were killed in an ambush |
| [00:18.47] |
by militants last week. |
| [00:19.85] |
But this latest attack is even more audacious, |
| [00:22.85] |
right in the heart of |
| [00:24.32] |
one of the most heavily policed cities in the world. |
| [00:27.02] |
Violent separatist groups, |
| [00:29.62] |
some of them backed by Pakistan, |
| [00:31.49] |
have taken up arms against Indian rule |
| [00:33.89] |
in Kashmir for 20 years. |
| [00:35.52] |
The fighting is far less intense |
| [00:37.97] |
than it was in the 1990s, |
| [00:39.80] |
but a political solution to Kashmir's problems remains elusive. |
| [00:44.02] |
So it's been a bloody start to the New Year |
| [00:47.23] |
in this highly sensitive region, |
| [00:49.06] |
which has been divided between India |
| [00:51.26] |
and Pakistan for decades. |
| [00:53.09] |
In another sign of the complexity of the conflict, |
| [00:56.39] |
four Pakistani soldiers have been killed |
| [00:59.14] |
by a suicide bomber |
| [01:00.31] |
in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. |
| [01:02.71] |
It's a worrying development |
| [01:04.33] |
for the Pakistani authorities, |
| [01:05.96] |
which suggests that Taliban militants |
| [01:08.36] |
may be trying to expand their area of operations. |
