M A I N   N E W S

Six Pak intruders killed

SRINAGAR, May 16 (PTI) — Army has foiled a major Pakistani attempt to push armed militants into the Kashmir valley by killing six infiltrators in Kupwara district, a Defence Ministry spokesman said today.

The militants attempted to sneak last night into the Indian territory from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir through Karnah sector, which had witnessed a fierce exchange of mortar and artillery shelling between Indian and Pakistani troops last week, he told PTI.

When troops confronted the militants at Pragni forest on the Indian side and asked them to surrender, they opened fire and in the ensuing encounter six of them were killed.

A big cache of arms and ammunition including a universal machine gun, three AK assault rifles, a pistol with a magazine were recovered from the deceased, he said.

This was the first major attempt by Pakistan to push armed militant’s into the valley through northern borders this year after snow melted.

Intelligence reports said a large number of heavily armed militants were reportedly camping at various places along the borders in Kupwara and Baramula sectors of north Kashmir.

However, the reports said the security forces were fully alert and had intensified vigil to scuttle any attempt by Pakistan to push the militants into the valley.

Meanwhile, militants made an abortive attempt on Tuesday to blow up the heavily-guarded Tagore Hall, a cultural centre here, with rifle grenades, an official spokesman said.

However, there was no loss of life or damage to the building, he said.

The ultras fired three rifle grenades in quick succession towards the Tagore Hall, renovated and opened for cultural activities last year, around 6:30 am, he said, adding the grenades, however, missed the target and exploded near the rooftop of the building, guarded by the CRPF.

No militant outfit has so far owned responsibility for the attack.

Security forces immediately intensified checking in the nearby areas, the spokesman added.

A militant, identified as Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh was blown to pieces when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at Diver in Tral town of Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Tuesday.

He was carrying the device to plant it somewhere in the area when it exploded prematurely, killing him on the spot, the spokesman said.

JAMMU: Five persons, including four militants, were killed in Jammu division, where troops seized a large quantity of arms and explosives since last evening, an official spokesman said here on Tuesday.

Militants kidnapped and killed a government employee of the Education Department, Nasir Hussain, in Kotli-Kalaban village in the Manjakote area of Rajouri district yesterday, he said.

The self-styled divisional commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, Abu Bilal Shahid, was killed in Radnullah of Budhal area in Rajouri district during a search and destroy mission yesterday, the spokesman said.

The slain ultra had been terrorising the local population in and around Budhal and was allegedly involved in many cases of rape and molestation, he said.

In another operation, troops last evening gunned down two hardcore terrorists of the same outfit near Shajru in Mahore tehsil of Udhampur district.

Security forces also shot dead one unidentified militant in forests of the Darhal area of Rajouri district during the period.