Militants on Monday struck at two separate places in south Kashmir, killing two police and paramilitary personnel in their renewed attempt to escalate violence in Kashmir. A civilian and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) man too were injured in the attacks, which were carried out within a space of three hours.
Police said suspected militants opened fire on policeman Salamatullah Khan in Arwani village around 12.45 pm, when he separated from his party for a minute, to drink water. He was shot at close range, resulting in instant death. The assailants also took away Khan’s service rifle. Sources said that the policeman from the frontier Uri pocket belonged to the anti-insurgency Special Operations Group (SOG).
A civilian, Shiraz Ahmad Naikoo, was wounded and has been shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment.
Soon after, senior police officers — including Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Gani Mir — reached the spot to take stock of the situation. The Hizbul Mujahideen owned responsibility for the attack. A man, identifying himself as Baleeguddin, operational spokesman, called up local news gathering agency KNS.
Some three hours later, militants attacked the escort party of National Conference legislator Showkat Ganai at Awneera village of Shopian. Wani had gone to attend a marriage ceremony and his guards were waiting for him at a distance.
Police said one CRPF personnel was killed, while two others — including the driver of an escort vehicle — were injured.
Militants have intensified targeting police and security forces in Jammu & Kashmir this year. Sources said 42 security persons have been killed since January. This is a five-time increase over the number of casualties in the corresponding period last year.