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SRINAGAR: A series of four terror attacks rocked Kashmir on Friday as militants struck a heavily-fortified military camp at Uri in Baramulla district as well as police and civilian targets in three other districts. At least 21 have been killed, among them eight soldiers, including the commanding officer in Uri, three policemen, two civilians and the remaining militants.
The concerted attacks in Uri, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar were seen to be aimed at disrupting the state elections which have so far witnessed record voter turnouts despite dire terror threats. The worst attack was in Uri which goes to the polls in the next round and where PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to campaign on Monday.
All six militants who attacked the Uri military base were eliminated by the Army, and two other terrorists were shot dead in Soura area of Srinagar. In Uri, 100km from Srinagar and 18km from the Line of Control, terrorists hurled grenades and fired from automatic guns trying to storm their way into a forward artillery base of the 32 Field regiment.
As they approached the camp, the fidayeen broke into two groups of three each. While one headed towards the main gate, the other turned towards the barracks. A fierce gun battle followed in which commanding officer, Lt Col Sankalp Kumar, and seven soldiers along with three policemen were killed. Firing at the barracks that stored kerosene, the fidayeen set off a fire that charred four soldiers. By 11.30am, the encounter was over and all the six fidayeen had been killed.
The attacks set off a massive security alert across several cities and in New Delhi Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag briefed Modi. The hand of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba is being widely suspected.
Significantly, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who on Thursday told his supporters in Lahore that Pakistanis and Kashmiris are blood brothers and elections in Kashmir are no substitute to plebiscite, tweeted, "Ghazwae Hind (conquest of India) is inevitable, Kashmir will be freed, 1971 will be avenged and Ahmedabad Gujarat victims will get justice, Insha Allah."
In Ahmad Nagar in Soura area of Srinagar district, terrorists inside a car fired at the police during a routine check. A terrorist was killed when police retaliated while another took refuge in a civilian home. Police and paramilitary forces cordoned off the house and in the ensuing encounter the second terrorist was killed. Over 50km from Srinagar, in Shopian, a hand grenade attack on a police station shattered the window panes of the DSP's residence.
In Tral, Pulwama district, a lone terrorist threw a grenade at a bus-stand in which 51-year-old Ghulam Hasan Gojri and 27-year-old Mohammed Jamal succumbed to their injuries. The attacker was untraced till reports last came in.
Speaking on the condition anonymity, a senior Army officer commanding the operation confirmed to TOI that it was a "fidayeen" (suicide) attack in Uri. "The terrorists are believed to be Pakistanis. In Uri, they killed three policemen on the road outside our Army camp: ASI Mohammad Akbar Lone, head constable Abdul Majid and constable Sanjay Koul. They entered the camp from the gate through the road which lacks a concrete boundary wall," the officer said.
"Lt Colonel Sankalp Kumar of 24 Punjab Regiment of Raipur was killed in the exchange of fire," he said, adding that SHO of Uri police station Latif Durrani was wounded.
The third phase of assembly elections will see Uri in Baramulla district going to polls on December 9. This section of the LoC is significant for being the transit point for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and trade between two parts of Kashmir. No infiltration has occurred here since the early 1990s.
Six AK-47s with 55 magazines, two shotguns, two night vision binoculars, four radio sets, 32 unused grenades, one medical kit and a large quantity of explosives were recovered from the slain terrorists, the defence spokesman said. The militants also came wearing snow boots and carried dry fruit, indicating that they were set for a longer standoff.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah, condemning the attacks, said this exposed the militants' desperation to disrupt peace and normalcy. "Once again (this) shows the desperate levels militants will go to disrupt peace and normalcy," Omar tweeted.
TimesofIndia
The concerted attacks in Uri, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar were seen to be aimed at disrupting the state elections which have so far witnessed record voter turnouts despite dire terror threats. The worst attack was in Uri which goes to the polls in the next round and where PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to campaign on Monday.
All six militants who attacked the Uri military base were eliminated by the Army, and two other terrorists were shot dead in Soura area of Srinagar. In Uri, 100km from Srinagar and 18km from the Line of Control, terrorists hurled grenades and fired from automatic guns trying to storm their way into a forward artillery base of the 32 Field regiment.
As they approached the camp, the fidayeen broke into two groups of three each. While one headed towards the main gate, the other turned towards the barracks. A fierce gun battle followed in which commanding officer, Lt Col Sankalp Kumar, and seven soldiers along with three policemen were killed. Firing at the barracks that stored kerosene, the fidayeen set off a fire that charred four soldiers. By 11.30am, the encounter was over and all the six fidayeen had been killed.
The attacks set off a massive security alert across several cities and in New Delhi Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag briefed Modi. The hand of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba is being widely suspected.
Significantly, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who on Thursday told his supporters in Lahore that Pakistanis and Kashmiris are blood brothers and elections in Kashmir are no substitute to plebiscite, tweeted, "Ghazwae Hind (conquest of India) is inevitable, Kashmir will be freed, 1971 will be avenged and Ahmedabad Gujarat victims will get justice, Insha Allah."
In Ahmad Nagar in Soura area of Srinagar district, terrorists inside a car fired at the police during a routine check. A terrorist was killed when police retaliated while another took refuge in a civilian home. Police and paramilitary forces cordoned off the house and in the ensuing encounter the second terrorist was killed. Over 50km from Srinagar, in Shopian, a hand grenade attack on a police station shattered the window panes of the DSP's residence.
In Tral, Pulwama district, a lone terrorist threw a grenade at a bus-stand in which 51-year-old Ghulam Hasan Gojri and 27-year-old Mohammed Jamal succumbed to their injuries. The attacker was untraced till reports last came in.
Speaking on the condition anonymity, a senior Army officer commanding the operation confirmed to TOI that it was a "fidayeen" (suicide) attack in Uri. "The terrorists are believed to be Pakistanis. In Uri, they killed three policemen on the road outside our Army camp: ASI Mohammad Akbar Lone, head constable Abdul Majid and constable Sanjay Koul. They entered the camp from the gate through the road which lacks a concrete boundary wall," the officer said.
"Lt Colonel Sankalp Kumar of 24 Punjab Regiment of Raipur was killed in the exchange of fire," he said, adding that SHO of Uri police station Latif Durrani was wounded.
The third phase of assembly elections will see Uri in Baramulla district going to polls on December 9. This section of the LoC is significant for being the transit point for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and trade between two parts of Kashmir. No infiltration has occurred here since the early 1990s.
Six AK-47s with 55 magazines, two shotguns, two night vision binoculars, four radio sets, 32 unused grenades, one medical kit and a large quantity of explosives were recovered from the slain terrorists, the defence spokesman said. The militants also came wearing snow boots and carried dry fruit, indicating that they were set for a longer standoff.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah, condemning the attacks, said this exposed the militants' desperation to disrupt peace and normalcy. "Once again (this) shows the desperate levels militants will go to disrupt peace and normalcy," Omar tweeted.
TimesofIndia
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