Cop killed, two injured as militants attack MLA's motorcade

A policeman was killed and two others were injured after militants attacked their vehicles which were returning from the medical camp in Damhal Hanjipora area of south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday.

Sources said that heavily armed militants opened fire on two police vehicles at Nandimarg crossing in Damhal Hanjipora, 85 kms from here, on Saturday evening. Both the vehicles skidded off the road, they said, adding that a policeman, identified as constable Khurshid Ahmad was killed and two others injured in the attack.

A police spokesperson said the police team on duty for medical camp while returning was fired upon by the hiding militants. "The police party retaliated and due to their action, they foiled the attempt of weapon snatching by the militants. The courage of the slain policeman, who took the vehicle out of arch of fire saved lives of other cops," he said and added the slain policeman is survived by aged parents, wife, three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son.

The police identified Gulzar Padder and Majid Ganie group of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen behind the attack. The spokesperson also denied that the ruling PDP MLA was the target of the attack.

On June 16, in a similar attack, six policemen, including a station house officer (SHO), were killed after a group of heavily armed militants ambushed the vehicle they were travelling in Achabal area of neighbouring Anantnag district. The militants had also taken away the weapons of the slain policemen after the attack.

Just two weeks later, on July 1, LeT top commander Bashir Lashkari, the mastermind of the attack, was killed in an encounter with security forces along with his associate near Dailgam in Anantnag district.

The latest attack occurred barely a few hours after two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in neighbouring Pulwama district, leading to protests in which a civilian died.