Jammu and Kashmir: 13 jawans injured in series of militant attacks

SRINAGAR: Militants on Tuesday night carried out a series of attacks on security forces in South Kashmir, injuring 13 jawans in a span of four hours. The ultras also looted four service rifles of the security personnel. A grenade was hurled on a CRPF camp at Ladiyar in Tral area of Pulwama district. 10 paramilitary jawans were injured in the attack, a police official said. In the second attack, the militants opened firing on the security personnel guarding the residence of a retired high court judge at Anchidora in Anantnag district, resulting in injuries to two cops, the official said. He said the ultras also snatched four service weapons from the cops posted there. The third attack took place on a CRPF camp at Padgampora in Pulwama, but no one was hurt in it as the grenade hurled by the militants exploded mid-air. The ultras also threw a grenade on Pulwama police station, resulting in minor injuries to a cop. These attacks came a week after four heavily armed terrorists on June 6 tried to storm a CRPF camp in a pre-dawn 'suicide' attack in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, but were killed in retaliatory fire by security forces. Last month, security forces in Tral had gunned down eight terrorists, including Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani following his killing in July 2016. In a major success for the security forces, Bhat was gunned down along with another militant, at Soimoh village in Tral of Pulwama district, about 36 km from Srinagar, during a cordon and search operation following specific information about the presence of terrorists there. Burhan Wani was killed on July 8 last year in south Kashmir. His killing had sparked violence in the Kashmir Valley for months. (With PTI inputs)