AYODHYA, India — A suicide bomber blew up a security fence yesterday and gunmen used the breach to storm a disputed Hindu shrine complex at the center of Hindu-Muslim strife, setting off a two-hour gunbattle that left all six attackers dead, police said.
They said an attacker in a jeep blew himself up, with the blast tearing a hole in iron railings surrounding the shrine and allowing the other five attackers to get within 50 yards of the temple’s inner sanctum.
After the gunbattle, the attackers’ bodies were sprawled on the grounds, and hundreds of local residents converged on the complex. Three security guards were wounded in the battle, and police said they recovered four AK-47 assault rifles, one carbine rifle, 17 live grenades and one small rocket launcher from the attackers.
The site, about 350 miles east of New Delhi, is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims, and the attack appeared religiously motivated, although no one took responsibility and police didn’t blame any group.
Hindu nationalists quickly pointed a finger at Pakistan-backed Muslim militants from the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, and said the incident proved India’s recent peace overtures with Islamabad were a failure.
Pakistan condemned the attack, as did the largest militant group in Kashmir, Hezb-ul Mujahedeen. India and Pakistan are pursuing peace after years of acrimony.
The sprawling 80-acre complex has seen previous violence. In 1992, Hindu nationalists demolished a 16th-century Muslim mosque on the site, sparking riots that killed more than 2,000 people.
Hindu leaders claim the mosque was built by Mogul rulers on the site of a sacred Hindu temple. They believe it is the birthplace of Ram, the highest god in the Hindu pantheon, but Muslims say there is no proof of that claim. The dispute is still working its way through India’s courts.
Ayodhya is guarded at all times by thousands of troops, and the site has multiple barricades where visitors are frisked. Security is so tight that even pens, pencils, lighters and matchboxes are prohibited.
Security officials in New Delhi said they were able to repulse the attack relatively quickly because intelligence reports had indicated that militant groups were targeting religious sites.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the attack and said the government would deal firmly with terrorists.
“All state governments have been alerted to take adequate precautions to protect monuments, security installations, religious places. Particular attention has been drawn toward maintaining communal harmony, peace and public order,” said Mr. Singh’s spokesman, Sanjay Baru.
The attack triggered a quick reaction in Hyderabad, about 680 miles south of New Delhi. Police arrested 20 Hindu nationalists protesting what they said was Pakistan’s involvement. They burned the Pakistani national flag and a paper effigy of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, police said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party called for additional demonstrations.
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