Two CRPF personnel and one policeman were killed on Monday, 17 August, after terrorists attacked a joint patrol party of the CRPF and police in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, IANS reported.
Later, two terrorists were killed, and one AK rifle and two pistols were recovered. The search for a third terrorist is still underway, the CRPF said.
Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said that a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Sajjad alias Haider, was killed in the Baramulla encounter. "It is a big achievement for the police and security forces," he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Earlier, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told IANS that terrorists fired from an orchard in the Kreeri area of Baramulla, taking advantage of the thick foliage. The area was cordoned off, additional forces were moved in and a search operation was launched.
J&K Lt Governor Pays Tributes
Newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, paid tributes to the three jawans who died.
"He expressed his solidarity with the families of the martyrs and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls," the Department of Information and Public Relations of the J&K government tweeted.
The two CRPF jawans killed in the attack are Constable Khurshid Khan and Constable Sharma Lavkush Sudarshan of the 119th Battalion, CRPF sources told The Quint.
Third Attack in a Week
This is the third attack on security forces in a week in J&K, according to NDTV. On 12 August, a soldier of the army was injured after an attack on a Quick Reaction Team at Hygam on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. On 14 August, the eve of Independence Day, two policemen were killed and a third injured after terrorists attacked a team of the J&K Police at Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar.
The Indian Express has noted that official figures show that there have been at least 30 attacks on security forces and political activists in the Kashmir Valley since 1 April – with 12 security personnel killed and 19 injured. Most of the six political activists killed have connections with the BJP.
(With inputs from IANS and ANI.)
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