Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including a junior officer, were killed when Hizbul Mujahideen militants opened fire at them near Halmula Village on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in south Kashmir on Monday afternoon.
Sources said that a CRPF road opening party was attacked by three to four militants who opened fire from a close range.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed condemned the attack and expressed sympathy with the families of slain cops.
Spokesman of CRPF, Ashish Kumar Jha said that two personnel, including an ASI were killed when militants opened fired at them. “Militants managed to snatch an AK-47 rifle before they fled the spot,” Jha said. He identified the deceased as ASI Omakar Singh and Constable Tilak Raj.
A spokesman of pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, Baliguddin, told a local news agency that their cadre attacked the CRPF. He said such attacks would continue in future.
Soon after the incident, a large contingent of police, CRPF and Army rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area to track down the attackers.
The Chief Minister condemned the attack. This is the first attack on security forces after the coalition Government began working from summer capital Srinagar last week.