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Police station siege in India leaves 10 people dead

Police believe the three attackers came from Indian-administered Kashmir, but some officials have suggested they may have crossed over from Pakistan.

By Fred Lambert

DINANAGAR, India, July 28 (UPI) -- At least 10 people were killed Monday after gunmen entered a police station in India's Punjab state and engaged officers in a firefight.

The attack occurred in the town of Dinanagar, in the Gurdaspur district.

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Authorities say the dead include a senior police officer, three home guard personnel, three civilians and the three attackers, who wore military fatigues and were armed with automatic weapons and Chinese-made hand grenades.

The attackers are reported to have entered the police station after hijacking a car and opening fire at a bus station. Police killed the gunmen after an 11-hour siege.

"The operation to flush out attackers is over," Gurdaspur Police Chief Salwinder Singh told the BBC. "All three attackers have been killed."

Police found five improvised explosive devices at a railroad track in the district, as well as a night-vision device, according to The Times of India.

Police and locals believe the attackers came from Indian administered Kashmir, but some have suggested they may have slipped over the border from Pakistan.

The BBC quoted Jitendra Singh, India's junior minister for home affairs, as saying there had been "earlier reports of cross-border infiltration [in Gurdaspur] and Pakistani mischief in the area."

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GPS devices found on the dead attackers revealed they had appeared to enter India from the direction of the Shakargarh border area of Pakistan.

The incident comes after officials from India and Pakistan met earlier this month to discuss methods of stopping terrorism in and between their countries.

Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned Monday's attack and reiterated its opposition to "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."

"We extend heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the government and people of India," the BBC quoted it as saying in a statement.

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