Four policemen killed in South Kashmir militant attack

Srinagar : Four policemen were killed in a militant attack in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Wednesday, police said.

Official sources said two constables, driver and an SPO, identified as Adil, Ishfaq, Javaid and Iqbal all associated with Dysp Hqrs Shopian were shot dead after they were fired upon by unknown gunmen near Arhama village in Shopian.

Sources said the policemen were repairing their vehicle when they were attacked. While two policemen died on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

The militants also took away three AK-47 rifles of the police team.

Minutes after the attack, the police and para military forces cordoned off the area.

The attack came hours after two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including senior commander Altaf Ahmed Dar alias Kachroo of Hawoora, were killed on Wednesday morning in Anantnag.

Police said Dar had escaped from a cordon and search operation at Batamaloo in Srinagar earlier this month. The other militant was identified as Abdul Rashid Wani of Khudwani.

The latest killings have come ahead of the hearing in Supreme Court on Article 35 A on August 31. The separatists have called for a two-day strike in protest against attempts to get the Article, which bars outsiders from settling in Jammu and Kashmir, scrapped by the Supreme Court.

“Police has registered a case and initiated investigations in the instant matter,” he said.