Anantnag Terror Attack: 5 CRPF Jawans Killed in Fidayeen Strike in J&K
ANANTNAG : Five personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and a police officer and a civilian injured in a militant attack on a busy road in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the reports, out of the two terrorists who attacked the team, one has been killed by security forces. The incident took place at KP Road in Anantnag. The terrorists fired at the team with automatic rifles and hurled grenades, news agency PTI reported.
Station House Officer of Anantnag Police Station, Arshad Ahmed, was injured in the attack and has been shifted to Srinagar for treatment, the agency added.
The attack comes as the state administration is preparing for the annual Amarnath Yatra that would begin next month. The 46-day pilgrimage is scheduled to start from two routes, one of which passes from Anantnag.
Militants, believed to be two to three in number, fired upon a stationary party of the CRPF at KP Road at around 5:15 pm. They also hurled grenades at the patrol team. Five CRPF personnel received critical bullet wounds. According to top police official they were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to the injuries.
A joint team of the bravo company of CRPF’s 116th battalion and state police were deployed for a picket duty in the area when the attack took place. After the attack, reinforcements were rushed to the spot. Station House Officer (SHO) Irshad Ahmad of Sadder police station, while trying to kill the militants, sustained a bullet injury. He has been shifted to Army base hospital in Srinagar for treatment.
“One militant was firing in the middle of the road, taking cover from a CRPF vehicle. He even tried to barge inside, but was eliminated by the forces,” the police official said. Police said that the body of a foreign militant, with an AK47 weapon, has been recovered from the spot.
Minutes after the attack, militant outfit Al-Umar Mujahideen claimed responsibility. The Pakistan-based militant group is led by Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who was one of the terrorists freed by India along with Masood Azhar in return for the passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 hijacked in 1999.
In a statement to a local news agency, the militant outfit said its cadres carried out the attack on the security forces party, leading to the killing of five personnel.
The KP Road, where the attack took place, leads to the Amarnath cave. With the Amarnath yatra scheduled to start on July 1, the attack in the town at this time raises question about the security scenario.
(With inputs from Agencies)
In a statement to a local news agency, the militant outfit said its cadres carried out the attack on the security forces party, leading to the killing of five personnel.
The KP Road, where the attack took place, leads to the Amarnath cave. With the Amarnath yatra scheduled to start on July 1, the attack in the town at this time raises question about the security scenario.
(With inputs from Agencies)
