Two days after eight security personnel and three terrorists were killed in an audacious suicide strike on district police lines in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, suspected terrorists again targeted the police in Anantnag killing an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). Around 23 policemen including Deputy Superintendent and an Inspector have been killed in a series of attacks on J&K Police this year. This is the highest number of police fatalities during the past several years.
Sources said that unknown gunmen targeted ASI Abdul Rashid Pir at Mehandi Kadal area in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town early on Monday. Several bullets hit Pir in his abdomen leaving him profusely bleeding. He was immediately shifted to local hospital where doctors referred him to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar. Even as efforts were made to save his life, Pir subsequently died of excessive bleeding.
Police and paramilitaries immediately cordoned off the area but the assailants could not be tracked down in the congested southern town. A resident of Panzath village in Qazigund, Pir was deployed in Anantnag town.
The latest fatal attack on a policeman was carried out two days after a suicide strike on District Police lines in Pulwama town that resulted into death of four policemen and an equal number of paramilitary CRPF troops. Three Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists, all Pakistani nationals, had sneaked into heavily-guarded police lines on Saturday morning to launch an attack. They were eliminated after a daylong gunfight.
The terrorists have launched frontal attacks on police force in Kashmir after police became pivotal in anti-insurgency operations along-with Army and CRPF. Most of the field intelligence is gathered by the police about the activities of militants, whose number swelled manifold since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani in July 2016 that triggered a massive public uprising. However, during recent months, the security forces launched an effective campaign against terrorists and killed 135 of them including top commanders like Abu Dujana, Abu Ismail, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, Arif lelhari, Bashir lashkari and Yaseen Yattu. The campaign however, resulted into death of 54 security personnel including 23 policemen.
The police installations and personnel were mainly under attack in south Kashmir where terrorists issued open threats through video messages and posters. A Station House Officer and his six guards were killed in an ambush in Shangus area of south Kashmir in June. In the backdrop of the threat perception, the State police chief Shesh Paul Ved issued advisory to the policemen to avoid visiting their residences on the onset of summer season.