4 cops injured in month’s third militant attack in South Kashmir

Trail of blood near Qazigund indicates that one militant was also hit

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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ANANTNAG, Jun 12: In the third daredevil militant strike in South Kashmir this month, four officials of Kulgam District Police sustained injuries on Sunday in Qazigund area, close to Srinagar-Jammu highway.

Deputy Inspector General of Police in South Kashmir, Nitish Kumar, told STATE TIMES that at least two militants in ambush near Bonigam, each carrying AK-47 rifle, attacked a Tata-Sumo vehicle of Kulgam Police Station at 6.10 pm when the Police party was on way to a spot for an investigation. A head constable and three constables sustained injuries. Police retaliated and forced the militants to retreat.

DIG said that two of the critically injured personnel were evacuated and admitted to Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar for treatment. He said that all the four injured were stable and out of danger late tonight.

Residents said that the militants did not straightaway attack the Police party. According to them, the militants signalled the driver to stop and attempted to snatch away the AK-47 rifles from two constables. As they met some resistance, the militants opened fire. Even as two Policemen were critically injured and the militants attempted to take away their guns, one of the injured constables put up sustained resistance. He straightaway targeted the militants who were forced to escape. One of them could be possibly injured.

SSP Kulgam Mohammad Irshad said that at least two militants, armed with AK-47 rifles, attacked the Police party when it was returning to Qazigund from a routine investigation. Head Constable Manzoor and selection grade constable Altaf sustained multiple bullet injuries. Constables Mohammad Yaqoob and Manzoor Ahmad received minor injuries as they jumped out and took positions. The militants failed to snatch away the rifles of the injured constables.

Trail of blood from the spot towards a locality indicated that one militant got hit in the encounter. SSP said that Police and security forces launched a massive search operation to arrest or eliminate the militants involved in Sunday’s guerrilla attack on the Police party.

Even as no militant outfit claimed Sunday’s guerrilla strike till late, SSP Kulgam claimed to be in possession of evidences suggesting that a group of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba militants carried out the attack on the Police party.

Earlier this month, unidentified militants attacked a BSF convoy at Bijbehara, on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on June 3. Three BSF men were killed in the ambush. Next day, on June 4, unidentified militants attacked a Police party near General Bus Stand at KP Road in Anantnag. Two Policemen, including an ASI, were killed.

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