1.   Israel has pledged not to storm the shrine believed by Christians to mark the birthplace of Jesus.

2.   The military admitted it had cordoned off the area but denied it was planning to storm the shrine to flush out the militants.

3.   Indian authorities denied storming the shrine and said it was torched by the militants in a bid to escape.

4.   The premier said Indian soldiers did not storm the shrine in a bid to avoid a bloodbath.

5.   On Tuesday, a Kashmir government spokesman said there were no plans to storm the shrine.

6.   The Indian authorities denied, however, that troops had stormed the shrine and said militants set it ablaze early Thursday.