Terror returned to the heart of Jammu and Kashmir capital on Tuesday as militants opened fire on a CRPF patrol party at the busy Kokkar Bazar area.
A civilian was killed and four others, including two CRPF troopers, were injured in the shootout. Two militant outfits — Al Nasreen and Farzandan-e-Milat —claimed responsibility for the attack.
Security forces later cordoned off the area but the militants managed to escape.
This was the second attack in Srinagar in last three days and fourth in a week. On Sunday, a CRPF trooper was killed and five others injured when militants lobbed a grenade outside the SR Gunj police station in Zaina Kadal.
There were conflicting reports about Tuesday’s shootout as Kashmir Traders and Manufactures Federation (KTMF) said civilians were injured in “crossfire”.
“The CRPF troopers were on a routine patrol of the market when militants opened fire. Havaldar Omkar Ram and constable Basant Maiti were injured and rushed to hospital. Maiti was later shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in a critical condition,” CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi said. KTFM said three civilians were injured in a “crossfire”. Khursheed Ahmad Parray, a salesman in a local shop, later succumbed to his injuries, the trade body said.
Tripathi, however, said the civilians were hit by militant bullets. “We have recovered five spent cartridges fired by the militants from a pistol,” the CRPF spokesman said.
Militants also struck at apple-rich town of Sopore in north Kashmir on Tuesday evening. They opened fire on a police party. One policeman and a civilian were killed and three others injured. Reports said the militants’ main target was an escort party of a senior police officer.
Sopore has re-emerged as a militant hub in the recent past. Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Kashmir chief Abdullah Uni and few dozen top militants are said to be roaming free in the area. Uni has given sleepless nights to security forces as he has slipped out of their hands a number of times.
