1 CRPF personnel, one civilian killed in terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Sopore

A CRPF personnel and a civilian were killed in a militant attack in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Wednesday. Three more CRPF men were also injured in the attack.

Reports said militants opened indiscriminate fire on a CRPF patrol party of 179 Battalion near Model Town, Sopore, 52 kms from Srinagar, at around 7:35 am.

One personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a civilian were killed while three other security force personnel were injured in the attack, officials said.

“We lost one CRPF personnel and one civilian in a terrorist attack at Sopore. Three CRPF personnel also got injured in the attack,” the Kashmir Police said on Twitter.

However, the family of the slain civilian alleged that the security forces pulled him out of his car and shot him. A CRPF spokesman while denying the allegations said the civilian vehicle which was coming from Sopore to Kupwara was caught in the firing.

“An old man who was driving the vehicle stopped the car and got down from the vehicle to move away for a safe spot but got killed by terrorists firing. Later the young boy was rescued by security forces who took position nearby,” he said.

Reports said immediately after the attack the area was sealed and a search operation was launched to nab the assailants. This was the second attack on the CRPF in Sopore in recent months. On April 18, militants fired at a CRPF party, killing three personnel.

While most of the encounters in recent months have been happening in southern districts of Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama, a senior police officer said, north Kashmir has more battle-hardened militants active on ground than the South.