M A I N   N E W S

7 security men hurt in J&K car blast

Srinagar, February 26
Seven security personnel and a driver were injured in a car bomb blast on the outskirts of Srinagar city today, an official spokesman said. Elsewhere in the valley, the security forces recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition which was to be used in fidayeen attacks.

The spokesman said militants detonated a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) planted in a parked car at Bemina, opposite the board of school education complex when a security force convoy passed by.

Due to the impact of the blast, the front screen of a bus, which was part of the convoy, was smashed, causing injuries to seven security personnel and a civilian driver.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said a road opening party (ROP) noticed a man parking a white car on the main road at Bemina, near a hospital on the Srinagar-Baramula road, this morning when an Army convoy was passing the area.

He said the man started running when asked by the security forces to remove the vehicle. Before he could be caught, the blast took place in the car. The injured were admitted to the Army base hospital, he said.

It was learnt that a stolen car with fake registration number was used in the blast by militants.

Meanwhile, an encounter took place between militants and a joint search party of the security forces and the police at Arigatnoo in Anantnag district in which one security force jawan sustained injuries. Militants, however, escaped, the spokesman said.

The police recovered three hand grenades from a canal at Akhnoor which were later destroyed by a bomb disposal squad. Besides, troops recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, including RDX, which was to be used during fidayeen attacks in north Kashmir, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman said the three militants killed in the Chati-Bandey encounter at Bandipora on Friday were members of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). — UNI