Policeman killed, 3 civilians injured in LeT terror attack

Highly-placed police sources said that an intelligence input was received yesterday suggesting that LeT terrorists were planning to carry out a suicide attack in the city.

Following the input, the authorities sent messages on mobiles to public at large and officials concerned asking them to alert.

Giving details about the incident, senior police officials said that the terrorists were stopped during a routing check near Pladdium in the heart of Lal Chowk.

They said the militants panicked when stopped and started firing indiscriminately besides hurling three grenades. They rushed towards a small hotel identified as "Punjab Hotel" on the adjacent Court Road, they said.

During the firing and lobbying of grenades by the militants, police constable Mohammed Yusuf, who was driver of Station House Officer of Maisuma, was killed while seven others including a camera person of a New Delhi-based private TV news channel were injured, they said.

The condition of one of the injured is stated to be critical, the sources said, adding that he is being operated upon.

Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda said senior officers had rushed to the spot to oversee the operations. "We were alert and this has helped us in preventing militants from carrying out a fidayeen-type attack," he told PTI over phone from Jammu.

Though Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen claimed the responsibility for the attack, the sources said this was a handiwork of Lashker terrorists only