SRINAGAR, India - Kashmir's main separatist alliance has demanded a probe by an international human rights group into Saturday's massacre of 17 Hindu villagers in the strife-torn Himalayan region.
Indian authorities say suspected separatist Muslim guerrillas are believed to have killed 17 Hindu villagers on Saturday in the restive state's Doda district.
The killers abducted 20 Hindus from the town of Atholi and took them to a remote area before shooting them.
"We can not sleep over such unfortunate incidents. We have been demanding probe in various massacres by impartial international human rights groups. We demand similar probe in this incident," a statement of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference said.
The statement was released late on Saturday evening.
Indian officials say militants of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group could be behind the attack as they are active in the area.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba issued a statement in the Pakistan-controlled side of Kashmir denying their involvement in the massacre.
"It is the handiwork of criminals. We demand a probe through independent agency like Amnesty international. There is no scope for such misadventures in Islam," Syed Ali Shah Geelani said.
Geelani is a former chairman of Hurriyat which bands nearly two dozen social, political and religious groups in Kashmir.
Violence has escalated in the Himalayan region since a summit last month between India and Pakistan failed to produce concrete results.
Nearly 150 people, mostly rebels, have been killed since the summit ended. India, which controls 45 percent of Kashmir, accuses Pakistan of arming and aiding Muslim separatists in the Muslim-majority state.
Pakistan, which rules just over a third of the territory, denies this and says it gives them only moral and diplomatic support.
Authorities say more than 30,000 people have been killed in the revolt against Indian rule which began in late 1989.
Separatists put the toll closer to 80,000.
01:46 08-05-01
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