Srinagar, January 15
In stepped-up violence ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, militants made a suicide attack at the highly guarded Indoor Stadium here this afternoon, only eight days after a similar attack on the Income Tax Office, where seven persons, including two militants, were killed in a 26-hour operation.
Militants also attacked a National Conference candidate, who was returning along with his supporters after filing nomination papers for the forthcoming civic poll, in which one person was killed and 16 persons were injured here this afternoon.
A girl was killed and two others injured elsewhere in separate incidents in the Kashmir valley, while militants shot dead a shopkeeper in Doda district of the Jammu region yesterday.
A two-member squad of militants owing allegiance to the Al-Mansoorian outfit attacked the highly guarded Indoor Stadium at about 4-15 pm today.
They lobbed grenades and opened fire from automatic weapons to force their entry into the premises of the stadium, where a youth hostel and two buildings of the Sports Council are also located.
Three CRPF men, including a Sub-Inspector were injured in the initial attack by the militants. Five civilians trapped in the premises were also rescued by the security forces, senior officials confirmed.
The militants, according to the senior police and security forces officers, were inside a building of the Sports Council, close to another building housing the Passport Office. Intermittent firing was on between the militants and the security forces, which cordoned off the area.
The militants also hurled a grenade towards the security forces at around 6 pm eyewitnesses said.
Till last reports came in, the siege was on and efforts were being made to flush out the militants without causing any damage to the property.
One person was killed and 16 persons were injured, two of them seriously, when militants hurled a grenade towards activists of the opposition National Conference at Alamgari Bazar here this afternoon.
The incident took place when Ghulam Ahmad Hakim, an activist of the National Conference, was returning home after filing nomination papers for the forthcoming civic poll here.
Ten persons were discharged after first aid, while seven others with serious injuries, were shifted to the nearby SKIMS hospital, Soura. One person, Nazir Ahmad Rather, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Two persons — a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a civilian — were injured in an IED explosion at Drangabal, Pampore, about 15 km from here, close to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway this morning.
Unidentified militants shot dead a 21-year-old girl, Tawheeda Akhtar, daughter of Ghulam Rasool Dar when they intruded into their house in the Dangiwacha area of Baramula district last night.
The police said unidentified militants shot dead Ved Prakash when they intruded into his shop in Koti sector of Doda district last evening.
A jawan was injured in an exchange of fire with the militants at Kharogi in Arnas sector of Udhampur district.
The police and the security forces busted a hideout and recovered 10 kg of RDX, 22 detonators, three remote-controlled Devices, two IEDs and an M-16 rocket at Hamirpur in Doda district.
