M A I N   N E W S

2 BSF jawans die in blast
Minister escapes unhurt in grenade attack
Tribune New Service and UNI

Srinagar, August 7
A Jammu and Kashmir minister escaped unhurt in a grenade attack in Baramula while two BSF jawans were killed and seven others injured in another grenade blast in the busy Lal Chowk here today.

Elsewhere in the state, three militants were among seven persons killed and eight others injured while road communication was damaged in a blast during the past 24 hours.

Official sources said militants fired two rifle grenades from across the river Jhelum towards an area at Khawaja Bagh in Baramula district this afternoon where Jammu and Kashmir Public Health, Engineering and Irrigation Minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal was holding an official meeting with the engineers.

However, the grenades missed the target and exploded at a distance of 300 ft, injuring two women who have been hospitalised.

The minister and other officials escaped unhurt.

Two BSF personnel were killed and five others were injured, two of them seriously, when unidentified militants lobbed a hand grenade towards their vehicle near Gurdwara Amirakadal in Lal Chowk at 12.45 p.m. today. Two pedestrians were also injured in the explosion. The vehicle was partially damaged in the explosion. The injured have been admitted to the Army Hospital here.

The security forces also seized an abandoned scooter from the spot, after the pedestrians went helter-skelter following the explosion. Further investigations are going to ascertain whether the suspected militants had used the scooter before lobbying the grenade. As part of the security measures ahead of the Independence Day, the police and security forces deployed in the area have not been allowing roadside parking in the area over the past one week.

An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with police and security forces.