Two CRPF jawans were killed and three others injured as two motorcycle-borne militants opened fire on a CRPF patrol on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday afternoon.
“Two Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] militants came on a motorcycle and fired indiscriminately at a Road Opening Party of the CRPF at Kandizal near Pampore. Two CRPF men died in the incident and three others sustained injuries, who are stable”, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said.
The militants were chased by a joint team of the Army and the CRPF after the attack, which took place near the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. However, the attackers managed to escape.
“The attackers were identified as Saifullah, a Pakistani militant, and the other a local. A hunt is on to track them down. I am hopeful they will be neutralised soon,” Mr. Kumar said.
The deceased CRPF jawans were identified as Shailendra Singh and Dhirendra Tripathi, both belonged to the 110 Battalion.
‘Highway is vulnerable’
Mr. Kumar said the militants tend to attack near the national highway “because they find it easy to target the security forces”. “Highway is a busy place where hundreds of civilian vehicles pass every day. If we retaliate and fire indiscriminately too, there will be civilian casuality,” he noted.
This is the second major attack in the area this year. Two policemen were killed in a similar attack on August 13 in the area.
