Terror attack in centre of Srinagar

One person was killed and four others were injured, including two CRPF personnel, when ultras struck the heavily-guarded Lal Chowk commercial hub of the city onb Tuesday, the fourth attack within a week.

Three civilians identified as Mehrajuddin Wani of Rainawari locality, Mehrajuddin Shah of Nawa Kadal and Khursheed Ahmad Parray of Khansahib area of Budgam district received gunshot wounds in the attack and were admitted to a hospital where Parray (28) succumbed to his injuries.
The condition of another civilian and a CRPF jawan, among the two injured from the force, was "critical".

The militants fired a volley of shots on CRPF personnel patrolling the Koker Bazar area of Lal Chowk around 1130 am , injuring two CRPF personnel. The ultras then fled from the spot.

Al-Nasireen and Farzandan-e-millat, shadow outfits of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack. A caller introducing himself as Sami-ul-Haq, claiming to be the spokesman of the outfits, telephoned a news agency saying the two outfits were behind the attack.

The attack by militants came despite tight security arrangements made by the police in view of intelligence inputs that militants are planning to attack the city. At least 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been patrolling the city and carrying out searches of vehicles and frisking of pedestrians for the past few days.

On March 14, militants attacked a CRPF patrol with grenades near a police station in downtown Srinagar, killing a jawan and injuring five others. Earlier on March 7, militants shot dead a surrendered militant Aijaz Ahmad Dada outside his house at Bemina. The incident was followed by the killing of special police officer Mohammad Arif Bhat by militants near Abu Baker Masjid in Posh Jawahar Nagar locality on March 12.

Meanwhile, a Special police officer (SPO) and a civilian were killed and four others wounded in a militant ambush in north Kashmir Sopore town on Tuesday evening.

- Asian Tribune -