While security forces foiled a major infiltration bid in frontier Kupwara district after killing an armed militant at the line of Control (loC), militants struck in capital Srinagar and shot dead a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan and wounded his associate.
Sources said that two CISF personnel disembarked from a vehicle at Hazooribagh area in capital Srinagar on Monday afternoon to purchase vegetables when unknown pistol borne persons opened fire on them from point blank range. The attackers immediately mingled with crowd in the busy street leaving the two soldiers in a pool of blood. The personnel were immediately rushed to hospital where one of them D Naik was declared dead.
Senior Superintendent of Police Ashiq Bukhari said that the attackers used silencer-fitted pistols. The area was immediately cordoned off but there was no trace of the assailants.
Hizbul Mujhadeen outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. A caller Baliguddin claiming to be the Operation Spokesperson of the outfit, told a local news agency that its special squad carried out the attack on Indian security personnel in response to Shopian killings. “Today’s attack was carried out in response of recent Shopian killings and oppressive measures adopted by police towards youth of Kashmir,” Baliguddin said.
Meanwhile, a defence spokesman said that Army foiled a major infiltration bid in north Kashmir’s Macchil sector of Kupwara district killing an infiltrator and forcing others to retreat.
He said that the intelligence input had indicated that a group of three to four militants was ready to infiltrate through Sonapindi Gali of Macchil and eventually the group was detected at 7 am on Monday, around half a kilometre inside the loC.
“The terrorists were immediately engaged by firing from the post located along the fence. The fire was very effective and resulted in the elimination of one terrorist, while the remaining flew towards the line of Control,” the spokesman said. The search operation was in progress in the area till the last reports poured in from the area, spokesman claimed.