Five CRPF employees were killed and four others, together with a police officer and a woman, have been injured in a bullet blitzkrieg by bike-borne militants on a busy avenue in the front of a faculty in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town on Wednesday afternoon.
One militant was killed in the retaliatory fireplace, and a large search is underway to arrest as a minimum one extra terrorist who carried out the attack, which happened hours after governor Satya Pal Malik entreated insurgents to give up palms and feature lunch with him at Raj Bhavan.
Wednesday’s strike was the primary important terror attack after the February 14 Pulwama massacre wherein a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnel and taken India and Pakistan to the edge of struggle.
The contemporary assault caused panic in the management as it took place on the road that is taken via pilgrims to the holy Amarnath cave. The annual pilgrimage is nineteen days away.
A CRPF spokesperson said suspected militants driving a motorbike opened fire on employees from the 116th battalion and police deployed on law-and-order responsibilities within the metropolis.
He stated the attack befell at K.P. Chowk near the General Bus Stand, that is the center of south Kashmir’s largest city, Anantnag.
The spokesperson stated three jawans died immediate, even as two greater personnel succumbed to their injuries later. According to him, three other personnel had been admitted to the Navy’s 92nd Base Hospital in Srinagar.
The injured consist of Anantnag station residence officer Arshad Ahmad, who has suffered a bullet wound in his chest. His circumstance turned into stated to be critical.
A woman additionally suffered bullet injuries and is being dealt with at a hospital in Anantnag, resources said.
The attack took place at four.55pm out of doors a school, triggering worry that students had were given stuck in the crossfire. The faculty management later tweeted that every one youngster has been secure and the attack happened after they had left.
Police resources stated the firing persevered for round 10 minutes. While one militant turned into killed and his attack rifle seized, the other is assumed to have escaped.
Shopkeepers downed shutters and ran for canopy together with loads of passers-by way of.
The militants are suspected to were fidayeen, or guys on a suicide undertaking. Most fidayeen attacks inside the Valley have taken location on security installations, which had brought about the authorities to take steps to cozy them.
This time, but, the militants chose a target at the roadside, which could upload to the concerns of the security establishment.
Another reason for situation become that a defunct militant institution, al Umar Mujahideen, has claimed obligation for the assault. The institution used to be led using Srinagar resident Mushtaq Zargar, who is now thought to be based totally in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Zargar turned into one of the militants freed by way of India along side Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar after the 1999 Kandahar aircraft hijack.
Zargar is said to be close to Azhar, whose outfit had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror assault. Security assets did no longer rule out the possibility of the Anantnag attack being achieved by the Jaish. Al Umar, they said, could have claimed responsibility to protect Josh from going through the heat.
Hours earlier than the attack, governor Malik had addressed a media convention after 12 months in office. He claimed that the scenario in Kashmir had progressed and entreated militants to drop weapons and feature lunch with him at Raj Bhavan.
“Violence will yield nothing. It is through love that Kashmir can get anything beneath the Constitution from the Centre,” he instructed reporters.
The governor urged neighborhood militants to “return to the mainstream, surrender fingers and stay a regular existence.”