M A I N   N E W S

Al-Badr ultra, 3 others killed

Srinagar, July 17
The security forces killed four militants, including a self-styled district commander, and arrested three others while militants shot dead a jawan, injured nine others and also set on fire the houses of four police personnel in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours.

A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman told UNI the forces gunned down a self-styled district commander of Al Badr and two other foreign militants in an encounter at Ringal Ganderbal last night. Three AK rifles, one wireless set, eight magazines and six grenades were seized from the slain militants.

A police spokesman said the security forces killed a militant at Buniyar in Baramula district last evening. One AK rifle, 60 rounds and 60 electric detonators were seized from the site of the encounter.

Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans and two civilians were injured when the militants hurled a hand grenade at their vehicle at Khanyar in the city last evening.

He said the forces captured a militant, allegedly involved in a number of IED blasts at Tahab in Pulwama district.

Panic gripped the downtown area when militants attacked a security forces patrol party this afternoon. The security forces returned the fire and there were no reports of any casualties.

This was for the first time during the past two years militants attacked the security forces in broad daylight in the downtown area.

One security jawan was killed and three others injured when militants fired upon them at Kither Banjwah, while a woman was injured in a mine blast at Shahpur last evening.

Militants set on fire the houses of four police personnel at Nallah Neel in Banihal tehsil late last night.

The security forces arrested three militants and seized some arms and ammunition across the valley during overnight operations.

A report from Baramula said shops and business establishments in the town and adjoining areas remained closed today in protest against the death of four farmers in security force firing at Janbazpora on Sunday night.

Traffic was off the roads and work in government offices was also affected. UNI

High alert in valley
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17
To deal with the threatened escalation of violence by Pakistan-backed militant outfits in the Kashmir Valley and the collapse of the Indo-Pak summit in Agra, security forces have been put on high alert in Jammu and Kashmir.

The security forces have been asked to mount pressure to flush out militants, especially Pakistani mercenaries belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat Ul Mujahideen and Al-Badr, official sources said here today.