A day after killing two policemen and injuring another in an ambush, militants today made an abortive bid to set off an explosion in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED), weighing about two kg and kept in a tin box, was noticed by a police party this morning during patrolling between Gaberpora and Keegam in Shopian, 52 kms from here, a police spokesman said.
The IED was planted on the roadside by militants with the intention to set off an explosion but timely detection of the deadly device averted a major tragedy, he said.
It was later neutralised by a bomb disposal squad, the spokesman said.
Militants have stepped up their activities in Pulwama and Shopian districts over the past one week and killed five persons including two policemen, a worker of the ruling National Conference and a young woman.
Two policemen were killed and another was injured when ultras ambushed a patrol party at Kadalbal in Pampore, 15 kms from here on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, yesterday.
Earlier, militants shot dead 21-year-old Sheeraza Akhtar at Hergam-Keller in Shopian on December 15 and followed it up
by killing two more persons - National Conference worker Mohammad Iqbal Dar and Nazir Ahmad Chopan - in Awantipora and
Kadipora areas of Pulwama on December 18.
