Srinagar, September 17
At least nine police personnel were killed and 10 others injured when a three-member suicide squad of the Lashkar-e-Toiba attacked a camp of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police at Handwara in Kupwara district last night. A militant was also killed while two of his accomplices managed to escape after the attack.

The DIG, Police, Baramula-Kupwara Range, Mr Mohammad Amin Shah, told The Tribune that the militants attacked the camp with grenades and gunfire. The sentry who spotted the suspicious movements of militants around the camp at 11.30 p.m. was also killed in the grenade attack. The militants entered the camp and lobbed grenades on the police personnel.

In the retaliatory fire, a militant was critically injured. He managed to flee along with one of his accomplices. Another militant, identified as Abu-Usama of the Lashkar-e-Toiba from Gujranwala, Pakistan, was killed when overpowered by an ASI. The ASI was also killed when the grenade in possession of the militant exploded.

The police personnel killed included three ASIs and six constables. Eight of them died on the spot while a constable succumbed to his injuries in the hospital here.

The Director-General of the Jammu and Kashmir police, Mr A.K. Suri, visited the spot this morning. Three ASIs, namely Mohammad Rafiq, Madan Lal and Dilip Kumar, besides constables Mohammad Iqbal, Bashir Ahmad, Farooq Ahmad, Sarfraz Ahmad, Kulwant Raj and Shabir Ahmad were killed in the militant attack.

Elsewhere in the valley, security forces gunned down nine militants while ultras caused three blasts, killing one person in the past 24 hours.

A police spokesman said a joint search party of the SOG and the BSF came under heavy fire from militants hiding in Panzoo Tral village, about 40 km from here, in south Kashmir district of Pulwama last night. Security forces retaliated and in the fierce clash, five militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed.