M A I N   N E W S

BSF officer among five killed in militant attack

Srinagar, January 7
Three security personnel, including a BSF Deputy Commandant, and two militants were killed in a gunbattle that broke out in the Income Tax building, near here today.

The three-hour-long gunbattle between the holed up militants and the security forces ended around 7 pm with the killing of both militants.

A BSF spokesman said Deputy Commandant Rawat, who was injured in the attack, died in the Army hospital.

The Al-Mansoorian outfit has claimed the responsibility for the attack.

A CRPF spokesman said the security forces had started a search in the area. One of the militants was killed by an alert sentry immediately after entering the IT office premises.

However, another militant managed to enter the building, he said.

He was also killed by a joint party of the CRPF, the BSF and the local police, he added.

“The operation is almost over as both militants have been killed,” he said, “The security forces were still searching the area,” he added.

He said CRPF head constable Mani Kumar, who was hit by a bullet, was part of the reinforcement from the 23rd Battalion.

The spokesman said CRPF Commanding Officer M.S. Rathore and a BSF commanding officer and Deputy Commandant Rawat were injured after they attempted to storm the building. Rawat later died.

Inspector-General of Police Javed Mukhdoomi said the militants hurled a hand grenade when BSF troops tried to storm the complex.

All Income Tax Department officials and civilians, who were inside the building at the time of the attack, had been rescued, he added.

Elsewhere, at least two militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, one of them a Pakistani national, were killed in an encounter with security forces at Panola in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district.

The Pakistani militant was identified as Dilawar Akram, tehsil commander of the outfit, the police here said.

The police and security forces recovered one sniper rifle, one magazine, six rounds, nine hand grenades, four RPG rounds, one binoculars, one compass, 50 kg of rice, 25 kg of the flour and 23 blankets from a hideout in the Lalpora area of Kupwara district yesterday. — UNI, TNS