Cop Killed, 2 Injured in Fresh Militant Attack in Srinagar

Srinagar: A police officer was killed and two others were injured after suspected militants attacked a police checkpoint in Srinagar’s Lal Bazar locality Tuesday evening.

The attack was carried out around 7 pm when armed assailants reportedly fired indiscriminately injuring the three police personnel following which they were rushed to hospital. One of the injured identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Mushtaq Ahmad, however, succumbed to his injuries, the police said.

The police soon launched an operation and cordoned off the area to nab the attackers. The state of the two injured cops is said to be stable.

The Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar claimed they were analysing the CCTV footage of the attack following which, he said, the militants involved will be “identified and neutralised”.

The ADGP while talking to media added that the militants fired at the small Naka party at Lal Bazar that was meant to regulate the traffic rush.

"Being a small naka team militants took advantage of it and fired indiscriminately upon them, resulting in the on-spot death of an ASI and injuring two other policemen,” he was quoted as saying.

Two years back in April, the slain ASI’s son Aaqib Mushtaq, dubbed a militant associate, was killed in a military operation in Devsar area of Kulgam in South Kashmir. Aaqib pursued his Btech from an engineering college in Chandigarh before his killing.

Mushtaq’s killing comes nearly a month after militants shot dead a cop Farooq Ahmad Mir earlier on June 18 near his residence in Pulwama district. Tuesday’s attack, however, is the second such attack on a policeman in July after a cop Firdous Ahmad was injured in firing in Anantnag area of South Kashmir on July 3. The attack on police also comes a day after a top militant of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit known as Kaiser Koka was killed alongwith an associate identified as Ishfaq Ahmad in Pulwama area on Monday.

The killing of ASI Mushtaq was widely condemned by police officials and political leadership of the region, who termed the attack as “cowardly”.

"Yet again terror on the prowl. Distressing news of fatality of a brave police officer. My heartfelt sympathies with the family of the deceased. Praying for swift revovery of the injured police personnel,” J&K Peoples Conference President Sajad Lone said.

Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also condemned the attack while expressing his shock and grief over the incident.

“Such cowardly attacks are against humanity. Everybody must condemn such brutal attacks in the strongest possible terms. My heart goes out to the family of the killed cop,” he said while extending condolences to the family of Mushtaq.