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2 CRPF jawans killed in militant attack in Kashmir
Militants on Thursday afternoon opened fire on a road opening party of the CRPF in south Kashmir’s Awantipora area killing two personnel. “Militants fired at a road opening party around 5:25 pm when they were winding up their operation.
Militants on Thursday afternoon opened fire on a road opening party of the CRPF in south Kashmir’s Awantipora area killing two personnel.
“Militants fired at a road opening party around 5.25 pm when they were winding up their operation. Initial reports suggest that two CRPF men were killed in the incident,” CRPF spokesman commandant Rajesh Pandey told the Hindustan Times.
Pandey said the operation is on in the area. “No weapons were snatched,” he added.
Preliminary reports suggest that the incident took place at Jawbroor area in Pulwama, 30 km south of Srinagar. Militants, whose number is being ascertained, fired from a distance with heavy arms at the CRPF personnel. Both were killed on the spot.
“We are collecting details on what kind of weapons was used by the militants. It is confirmed it was heavy arm fire. The militants immediately fled from the spot after firing,” said Pandey.
The incident has come on a day when security across south Kashmir, particularly Pulwama district, was beefed up in the wake of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s visit today. Rahul inaugurated a cold storage in Pulwama along with chief minister Omar Abdullah in the morning.
The area where militants opened fire also houses a major army installation. "Search operation is on to ensure that militants do not sneak into any other security installation," said a senior police officer.
The attack has disturbed movement of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, only surface link of Kashmir to the rest of the country.
This is first militant attack since the Keran operation in October where seven militants were killed in two infiltration bids.
