Nine CRPF personnel injured in Tral grenade attack

At least nine paramilitary CRPF personnel were injured, three of them critically, when militants hurled grenade on their camp in Lariyar village of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday.

A police official said that the attack took place on 180 Bn Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Lariyar, Tral, 38 kms from here at around 6 pm. "Nine CRPF personnel were injured as the grenade exploded inside the camp. The injured have been shifted to the hospital where the condition of three of them is stated to be critical," he said and added the area has been cordoned off to nab the attackers.

This was the second attack on CRPF in Tral area in less than 24 hours. On Monday evening at least two CRPF personnel were injured after militants fired UBGL grenade at a camp in main town Tral. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the grenade attacks.

Tral, a hometown of Hizbul Mujahedeen poster boy Burhan Wani, killed in an encounter last year, is located just 12 kms from the National Highway and connects the valley with rest of the country. It has emerged as the new training ground for various militant outfits in south Kashmir.

"Tral had a presence of banned Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists always but post Burhan killing, it has become a new hub of militancy in the Valley and especially south Kashmir," said a senior police officer.

"Till a few years back north Kashmir's Sopore town was considered as hub of terror but now Tral has gaining notriety. Militancy practically never ended in these two areas and after Burhan's killing, it has even grown stronger.The situation may worsen in the absence of an aggressive clampdown on militancy," he said and added it has been very difficult to generate information about the militant movement or their hideouts as they enjoy considerable support here.

Flanked by river Jehlum on the west and dense Bujkamla forest in the east, Tral has always considered a transit point for militant groups who infiltrated from North Kashmir before fanning out to the south.