5 security officials martyred in Anantnag on road taken by Amarnath pilgrims
In a deadly terror strike on a patrol party, two motorcycle-borne terrorists shot five CRPF men, including two officers, on the busy Khannabal-Pahalgam (KP) road — Amarnath pilgrims travel via this road to the cave shrine — in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday. Three other CRPF jawans and two Jammu & Kashmir policemen received grievous injuries.
Though Al-Umar Mujahideen, a a Pakistan-based defunct terror group, has claimed responsibility for the strike, officials, however, said that it was a handiwork of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
The terror strike took place despite heightened level of security ahead of the beginning of annual Amarnath yatra from July 1. This is the first major terror attack on the CRPF after the “dastardly” Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred in February this year.
As the terrorists attacked the CRPF patrol party which fought the ultras and lost its five personnel, immediately additional forces, led by Station House Officer of Saddar police station in Anantnag Arshad Ahmed, reached the encounter spot but had to face indiscriminate firing from the terrorists who also hurled grenades at them. In the ensuring gunfight, one terrorist was neutralised near Oxford school in the heart of busy Anantnag town, while the other managed to escape, officials said.
Jammu & Kashmir Police spokesman in Srinagar said, “In this terror incident, five CRPF personnel attained martyrdom while repulsing the terror attack. Three security force personnel, including Anantnag SHO Inspector Arshid Khan, sustained gunshot injuries. In the retaliatory action, a terrorist was gunned down on the spot. From the materials recovered, it is found that the dead terrorist was a foreigner.”
Despite suffering loss of lives, security forces took utmost care to avoid any collateral damage in the busy market area. All the shops in the area immediately downed their shutters and people moving in the area ran for safety as terrorists targeted the patrol party by lobbing grenades and opening indiscriminate firing.
Due to the presence of tourists in Pahalgam, security forces cordoned off all the link roads connecting the famous tourist destination. Two ASI rank CRPF officers and three constables attained martyrdom in the terror attack, official sources told The Pioneer.
Inspector Arshid Khan received bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to military hospital for advance medical treatment. A young girl was also injured in the terror attack.
The martyred CRPF personnel have been identified as ASI Ramesh Kumar of Jhajjar, Haryana; ASI Nirod Sarma of Nalbari, Assam; constable Satendra Kumar of Muzaffarnagar, UP; constable Mahesh Kushwaha of Gazipur, UP; constable Sandeep Yadav of Dewas, MP.
J&K Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh along with senior officers visited command hospital and enquired about health of the personnel injured in the Anantnag terror attack.