Deadly Attack In Srinagar: 8 Soldiers Killed Gunmen Lob Grenades, Fire On Army Convoy; 13 Security Personnel Injured, 2 Critical; Choppers Used To Locate Attackers SHABIR IBN YUSUF Srinagar, June 24: Day before the arrival of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Kashmir, suspected militants carried out a deadly attack on an army convoy at Hyderpora here, killing eight soldiers. Eleven soldiers were injured in the attack. Two more security personnel, including a Central Reserve Police Force officer, were injured in second attack by the gunmen when they were intercepted in the nearby Barzulla locality. INCIDENT: An Army official said the soldiers were part of 35 Rashtriya Rifles stationed in Beerwah area of central district of Budgam. He said that RR soldiers were travelling in three vehicles when the militants lobbed grenades and opened fire on them near Jamkash Workshop cum Showroom at around 4.20 p.m. “Initially two soldiers died and 15 others were injured,” Army official said, adding that the injured were brought 92- Base Hospital Badamibagh here. “Six more soldiers later succumbed to their injuries. 11 others are injured and among them two are critical,” he said adding that they are being treated. Eyewitness said that the exchange of fire in Hyderpora continued for around five minutes. “First there was a powerful explosion. Later there were some gunshots from both sides of the road,” a shopkeeper, who witnessed the incident, said. “After that chaos and confusion prevailed,” he added. Another eyewitness said that he saw two to three Army soldiers lying in a pool of blood. “Later forces laid a siege and fired in air.” A police official who visited the spot said that militants attacked the convoy from both sides of the road. “They lobbed a rifle grenade and fired upon the Army vehicles,” he said adding that the grenade landed in the jam-packed Army vehicle. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Abdul Ghani Mir told Greater Kashmir that fatalities were due to the grenade. “The grenade exploded inside the vehicle. Efforts are on to track down the militants,” IGP Kashmir said. However, PRO defence late Monday evening said that eight soldiers were killed and only seven soldiers are injured. “They are being operated upon,” he said. Soon after the incident, heavy contingents of Special Operation Group (SOG), Army and CRPF cordoned off the area and carried out search operation of Gulbarg Colony and its adjoining area. However no one was arrested. Senior police and Army officials arrived on the spot to take stock of the situation. As the search operation was going on in Hyderpora area, militants opened fire on a CRPF and police party at Barzulla, injuring CRPF sub- inspector Ram Lal and a policeman. Police sources said the militants were travelling on a motorcycle and they were stopped for frisking near Barzulla Bridge. “They opened fire on CRPF and police men and left the bike there. They then fled in a car with tinted glasses,” a senior police official said. PTI reported that the gunmen had snatched the motorcycle from two students in nearby Baghat area. The police official said that the area was cordoned off, however no one was arrested. The official said that circumstantial evidence says that the militants were armed with AK assault rifles. “We have seized the bike and hunt is on to nab the militants,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Syed Aashiq Hussain Bukhari told Greater Kashmir. Choppers were also used to locate the attackers. The choppers hovered over Hyderpora and adjoining areas for quite some time. PANIC: For at least two hours, panic griped the entire area and hundreds of vehicles were stranded because of heavy presence of different force personnel in the area. The incident also created panic in other parts of city. Police and CRPF personnel were out on the roads carrying out frisking of people and checking of vehicles, mostly LMVs.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 02:16:50 +0000
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