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Powell Names Kashmir Separatists
As Future US Military Target
10-4-1

The US Secretary of State Colin Powell has identified Kashmir militias as a future target of the war on terrorism.
 
The announcement followed a suicide bomb attack on a state assembly in the disputed territory which left 38 people dead.
 
'Moral support'
 
India blames Pakistan for supporting the Muslim rebels in their battle over the territory. Pakistan denies backing the guerrillas but gives it 'moral support'.
 
Powell said the bomb attack was the type of act his government wanted to stamp out in its war against global terrorism.
 
But that could pose problems for the US - Pakistan is a pivotal ally in its military campaign against Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden's terror network. And America needs to use Pakistani airspace to launch air attacks on Afghanistan.
 
Bin Laden 'link'
 
The move to target what he called "the kind of terrorism that affects India" is likely to provoke an angry response in Pakistan.
 
The two countries have locked horns over Kashmir for the last 12 years. More than 30,000 people have died in clashes, bomb blasts and attacks on villages.
 
A federal minister in the Indian parliament said there were "credible links" between the Jaish-e-Mohammad guerrilla group in Pakistan and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Responsibility was claimed by a group claiming to represent Jaish-e-Mohammad.
 
India warned its patience with Pakistan was wearing thin.
 
The Jaish-e-Mohammad group was launched by Pakistani cleric Moulana Masood Azhar after he was freed by Indian authorities in exchange for passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Afghanistan in December 1999.
 
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