15th anniversary of the Parliament attack

On 13 December 2001, five armed terrorists stormed the Parliament House Complex in New Delhi.

The terrorists killed six security personnel and 3 civilians and as many as 12 security personnel and six civilians were hurt.

All five terrorists were gunned down and MPs and lawmakers escaped unharmed.

Investigations revealed that the attack was carried out by members of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Before the five terrorists were killed, a one-hour gun battle ensued between them and the Parliamentary security force.

The terrorists arrived 40 minutes after the house had adjourned but there were still 100 MPs within the Parliament complex.

While entering the complex, the terrorists' car collided with Vice-President's cavalcade; the collision messed with wires in their car and the RDX explosives couldn't be detonated.

Delhi Police zeroed in on Afzal Guru, member of terrorist outfit JeM, and a resident of Jammu and Kashmir for harbouring terrorists who attacked the Parliament.

S.A.R Geelani of Delhi University's Zakir Hussain College was also arrested.

Two other suspects Afsan Guru and her husband Shaukat Hussain Guru were also arrested.

Afsan Guru was later released after questioning.

Afzal Guru was sentenced to death in 2006; the SC confirmed his punishment and he was hanged in February 2013.

S.A.R Geelani, although sentenced to death in 2002 was acquitted in 2003 for lack of evidence.

Shaukat Guru was also sentenced to death in 2002 but his death sentence was commuted to life-imprisonment; he was released from Tihar jail in December 2010.

Today marks 15 years of the most audacious attack on the citadel of Indian democracy.

A terrorist attack on the Parliament, masterminded by JeM terrorist, Maulana Masood Azhar, could have created havoc had terrorists not been immediately neutralized by Indian security forces.

Today, leaders across all political parties pay tribute to the 9 martyrs who lost their lives in this horrific attack.

PM Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and senior leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, L K Advani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the solemn ceremony held in Parliament today.

Parliamentarians observed silence to honour the martyrs and a blood donation camp was also organized within the Parliament complex to remember their sacrifice.

Family members of the martyrs were also in attendance.