SRINAGAR: A National Conference MLC had a narrow escape while a CRPF jawan, guarding him, was killed in a militant strike in south Kashmir, where one SOG constable was also shot dead by militants in a separate attack on Monday.
Militants struck twice within a span of six hours killing two guards and wounding two more. They also snatched the weapons of dead and injured personnel before escaping from the spot, reports reaching here said.
In the first strike at around 12: 45 P.M militants intercepted a patrol party of Special Operations Group (SOG) of police in Arwani, Bijbehara. They fired at them resulting in the injuries to one SOG constable Salamatullah Khan and a passerby.
The assailants snatched the service rifle (AK-47) of the injured constable before escaping from the spot, official sources said.
Both the injured were immediately rushed to sub-district hospital, Bijbehara for treatment where the SOG constable (belt no. 454/AP-14 bn) succumbed to his injuries, they said.
The official identified the injured civilian as Shiraz Ahmad Niakoo, a resident of Arwani. His condition was stated to be stable, the official said.
In another incident a CRPF jawan was killed and two other injured when militants fired at the escort of ruling National Conference MLC Shoukat Ahmad Ganie in village Awneera in Shopian district, officials said.
Ganie was in the village to attend a private function and was inside a house when the militants struck at around 6.25 PM, they said.
The attackers took away the service rifles of the dead and injured jawans before fleeing, the officials said.
The injured CRPF men, including driver of the escort vehicle, were rushed to the nearby hospital where one of them succumbed to his injuries.
The deceased CRPF personnel has been identified as Raja Ram from 14th Battalion CRPF.
The shootout created panic in entire area. Joint columns of Army, SOG of JK Police cordoned off the area and carried out a search operation, however no one was arrested.
An eyewitness said that, I came out of my shop to inquire but the commuters had disappeared and the policeman was lying in a pool of blood, he said, adding in the meanwhile large contingents of police and Army arrived on the spot.
Meanwhile a spokesman for the Hizbul Mujhadeen, while claiming responsibility of the attacks, said that such attacks would continue.
“Our special guerrilla squad attacked CRPF vehicle and killed one of them. We would carry such attacks in future as well. Hizb would intensify its attacks on police and paramilitary personnel,” Hizb operational spokesperson, Baleeg-u-Din told local news agency the CNS on phone.
Following the series of attacks, an alert has been sounded across South Kashmir range and an operation has been launched to trace the militants, a police spokesman said.
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