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Terrorists attack Parliament, six cops, all five intruders killed

A Correspondent in New Delhi

In their most audacious attack to date, terrorists on Thursday morning launched an attack on Parliament House after breaching security at gate number 12. In the ensuing gun-battle, 5 terrorists and 6 Delhi policemen were killed.

Six terrorists, whose identities remained to be ascertained, breached the massive security cordon in the Parliament House building around 1145 am, firing from AK-47 rifles and hurling grenades. Both houses of Parliament had adjourned about 40 minutes before the strike even as several Union ministers and hundreds of MPs were still inside.

Officials declined to say whether Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was inside the Parliament House complex when the attack took place but said he was safe and was personally monitoring the situation. Vajpayee is understood to be in Parliament House, conferring with his cabinet colleagues, Home Minister L K Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes.

Seventy five minutes after the attack, Parliament building continued to be sealed as security forces were said to be searching for one of the militants who is holed up inside the complex.

Defence Minister George Fernandes said the terrorists tried to lob hand-grenades into the Parliament building, but were not successful. Both Fernandes and Law Minister Arun Jaitley confirmed that while terrorists had in fact penetrated the compound, they had failed to enter the main building.

The attacks, being attributed to a terrorist strike, occurred just as Parliamentarians were preparing to leave the House, following an adjournment forced by Opposition uproar over the ongoing coffins scam.

In an initial reaction, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said no terrorists had actually gained entry into Parliament House, and that the situation was under control.

Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak, who was inside the premises at the time of the attack, meanwhile confirmed in a television interview that sustained firing had lasted for at least 30 minutes.

An estimated 200 MPs, plus visitors and media personnel, are believed to have been in the complex when the attack broke out.

The prime minister was not in Parliament when the attacks occurred. Home Minister Advani and other senior ministers have been moved to a secure location within the Parliament complex in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

The Army has been called in. Black Cat commandos and police personnel were rushed to the spot. All entry and exit points were sealed and security forces are at the time of writing this engaged in a lock-down and mop-up operation.

Special security has been placed at the residences of the prime minister, home minister and leader of opposition.

Vajpayee has convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security later this afternoon.

Mahajan said the first priority was to get all the MPs and others within Parliament premises safely out. ''We have to unite and fight this''.

Army has been deployed in Parliament, North and South Blocks, Fernandes said. The Army is standing by at the residences of prime minister, home minister and leader of the Opposition, official sources said.

All states have been alerted and asked to beef up security at key installations, Home Minister L K Advani told reporters.

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