An officer of counter-insurgency wing of the Jammu & Kashmir Police was killed in a militant ambush in north Kashmir’s Sopore town on Tuesday afternoon. Three other police officers were injured in the incident, which is the first such attack on security forces in Jammu & Kashmir this year.
Sources said that the police received a tip-off about the presence of militants in a house at Chanakhan pocket of Sopore town. A counter-insurgency police team boarded a private vehicle to carry out a swift raid in disguise.
“A lashkar-e-Tayyeba militant, Muzafar Molvi, was hiding in the house of a former militant. As the security personnel approached the house, they came under a barrage of fire from militants,” said a police officer.
Four policemen were wounded in the attack. Even as the police had informed the 52 Rashtriya Rifles battalion for reinforcement, the Army could not reach the spot when the attack was on.
The wounded personnel were rushed to hospital where assistant sub-inspector Kafeel Ahmad succumbed to his injuries. The other wounded personnel have been identified as Irfan Ahmed, Manzoor Ahmed Ganaie and Zakir Ahmed Sheikh. The injured cops have been shifted to 192 base hospital in Srinagar.
Security forces launched a massive search operation after the incident. later in the evening, a wreath laying ceremony was organised at the police control room in Srinagar and guard of honour was presented to the slain police officer.