One jawan killed, 7 persons wounded as militants fire at CRPF convoy near Srinagar

A paramilitary jawan was killed and five personnel and two civilians were injured on Monday when suspected militants opened fire on a CRPF convoy in Sempora on the outskirts of Srinagar, officials said.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) spokesman Rajesh Yadav identified the jawan as Bassapa of the 97 battalion.

Two civilians were also injured -- one was the driver of the private bus in which the CRPF personnel were travelling, while the other was a 10-year-old school girl returning home at the time of the attack.

CRPF officials said the security personnel in the convoy were coming to Jammu and Kashmir for duty during the upcoming by-polls in two Lok Sabha constituencies on April 9 and 12. There has been an increased militant activity in the Kashmir Valley affecting the election campaign.

The officials said the militants fired at the convoy in Pantha Chowk near Sempora on Monday afternoon. The convoy was coming from Jammu to Srinagar.

Army personnel near the site of a militant attack in Sempora area on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)

CRPF spokesman Yadav earlier said six personnel were wounded in the attack. Two were operated upon and four of the injured were treated in the trauma section. Bassapa later succumbed to his injuries.

He did not specify whether the CRPF personnel retaliated or not.

The attack took place around a kilometre away from a prominent school.

Immediately after the attack, security forces swung into action and launched a search operation to track down the attackers.

The attack comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenani-Nashri all-weather tunnel.

A few hours after the inauguration, a policeman was killed and 14 security personnel were injured in a grenade attack by militants in Nowhatta in downtown Srinagar.

Army personnel during their search operation near the site of a militant attack in Sempora area on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)

On Saturday too, militants had opened fire on an army convoy near a hospital on the Parimpora-Pantha Chowk bypass road in Srinagar. A soldier was injured in the attack.