2 soldiers, cop killed in Kashmir ambush

Cops say Jaish, but Hizb claims responsibility

Two soldiers and a policeman were killed when militants ambushed a security convoy in north Kashmir’s Baramulla town on Wednesday.

Sources said heavily armed group of militants, ambushed a convoy of the 19-Infantry Division near Khawajabagh on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway at around 3 am. “The militants lobbed grenades and fired indiscriminately, killing two army personnel and a policeman on the spot,” they said.

Baramulla Imtiyaz Hussain, senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), confirmed that two soldiers and a police constable were killed while three others were injured in the meticulously planned attack.

“The militants attacked the convoy which usually moves during the night these days. A police vehicle was also moving during the same time when the attack occurred,” Hussain told DH.

Ultras

He said that it was a group of two to three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants and “we launched a search operation during the night, but they managed to flee.”

“We knew about their presence around Baramulla town for more than a month but due to violence across Kashmir, they managed to consolidate and carry out an attack,” the SSP added.

However, the militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen claimed that it was their men who carried out the attack. A local news agency quoting its spokesperson Burhanuddin said a special squad of the outfit staged the attack in the dead of the night.

Since violent protests began in Kashmir on July 9, the security forces have been moving their convoy at night to avoid any confrontation with protesters.

I-Day Attack

The latest attack came barely two days after a central reserve police force (CRPF) commandant and two militants were killed in Nowhatta area of Srinagar when ultras took security forces by surprise and attacked their patrol party on Independence Day.

On Tuesday, militants hurled a grenade on a police station in Kakapora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district that left five policemen injured. Security agencies blame the unrest for the sudden surge in militant attacks after years of decline.

“Taking advantage of the unrest, militants are consolidating their bases as security forces remain busy in controlling protesters,” a senior police officer said.