Sacred site attack sparks riot fears

Gunmen tried to storm India's most disputed religious site yesterday, raising fears of a return to communal violence that killed thousands in 1992 and 2002.

Five militants armed with grenades and assault rifles attacked the heavily guarded site of the former Babri mosque in Ayodhya, blowing a hole in the security wall with a jeep packed with explosives.

Police killed all the militants in a gun battle that lasted nearly two hours. It was not clear whether a sixth body was a militant or a civilian.

Although police managed to prevent widespread carnage - Hindu pilgrims were at a makeshift temple on the site during the attack - the attempt was enough to inflame tensions.

Hindu nationalists last night stormed an airport in central India.

More than 200 slogan-shouting activists of the World Hindu Council broke past security officers to storm into the domestic airport in the central city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh state, said local administrator Vivek Agarwal.

The mob smashed the VIP lounge and some of them sprawled on to the tarmac, preventing a New Delhi-bound flight of the private Jet Airways from taking off for an hour.

Police beat them back with bamboo truncheons and arrested 40 people, said Agarwal.

The right-wing Bharati Janata Party (BJP), India's main opposition, called the incident in Ayodhya an "attack on the Hindu faith".

There were also concerns that it could damage the peace process with Pakistan, after far-right Hindu parties accused Pakistani intelligence of being behind the raid.

There has been no claim of responsibility and it is not clear who was behind the attack, but it is widely assumed that Islamic militants were responsible.

Some Indian media, quoting unnamed Indian intelligence sources, reported that Lashkar-e Toiba, a militant group based in Pakistan, was responsible.

The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, cancelled a tour of Gujarat to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting. Security forces were put on high alert against further attacks, and a tight guard was mounted around Government buildings and major religious sites.

In 1992, the Ayodhya mosque was torn to pieces by Hindu extremists who wanted to build a temple in its place.

That incident set off riots pitting Hindus against Muslims, killing more than 3000 people.

Ayodhya was again involved in the explosive mix of events that set off new religious massacres in Gujarat in 2002, in which more than 2000 people died.

Babri mosque

* The Ayodhya site is a symbol of religious division every bit as potent for India as the disputed Temple Mount in Jerusalem is for the Middle East.

* Until 13 years ago, it was the site of a 16th century mosque.

* Many Hindus believe the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of the most powerful gods in the Hindu pantheon. 

- INDEPENDENT