5 terror incidents in Kashmir Valley on second anniversary of Article 370 abrogation

The Kashmir Valley witnessed a series of terrorist attacks on the second anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status on Thursday.

Officials said there were a total of five terrorist incidents during the day.

No loss of life or injury to anyone was reported, they added.

Other than these, there were no reports of any untoward incident in the valley. Shops and business establishments in some areas of Srinagar remained shut during the day and public buses did not ply, officials said.

Though there was no call for a strike given by any separatist outfit, some areas in the city witnessed spontaneous shutdown, they said.

Giving details of the attacks, the officials said the first one took place at Batpora in the Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district where militants fired at a police team from a long distance in the morning.

There was no loss of life or injury to anyone.

Around noon, an explosion -- suspected to be that of an improvised explosive device (IED) -- took place near Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar, the officials said.

The security forces deployed in the area fired some rounds in air after the explosion, they said.

In the evening, terrorists hurled a grenade on security forces patrolling team in Mehjoor Nagar here.

Around 20:30 pm, terrorists hurled a grenade at Pulwama Police Station in south Kashmir and it exploded on the roadside outside its main gate, the officials said.

The fifth attack took place around 9 pm when militants hurled a grenade at a security forces' post located at Bemina near Judge Quarters here which exploded without causing any loss of life or injury to anyone.

Meanwhile, shops in several areas of the city, including Lal Chowk city centre, were closed. Those in other areas such as south Kashmir's Anantnag district and parts of Budgam, Ganderbal and Kupwara were open.

Shopkeepers in many areas, including Lal Chowk, alleged that police forced them to keep their establishments open. Many of them claimed police broke open the locks of their shops.

There was no strike call given by any separatist group.

The police termed a letter in the name of hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is under house-detention, calling for a shutdown "fake".

They added that action was being taken against those uploading or sharing the letter.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre announced nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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