5 policemen killed as militants ambush convoy in Kashmir
Five policemen were killed after militants ambushed a police party at Achabal in Kashmir's Anantnag district. The martyrs included a police officer of the rank SHO. Meanwhile, two people reportedly died after police opened fire on protesters attempting to disrupt an encounter going on in the area.
Six policemen, including an officer, were killed after LeT militants ambushed a police party in south Kashmir's Anantnag district today.Official sources told India Today that late in the afternoon militants opened indiscriminate firing upon a police jeep near Thajiwara Achabal area resulting in fatal injuries to all occupants.All the six injured were shifted to hospital where doctors declared them dead.A Station House Officer identified as sub-inspector Firoz Dar, a resident of Pulwama, was also among the killed. The other martyred include a driver and four other policemen who were on a routine round in their jeep.In a brutal act after the killing, the militants disfigured the faces of the bodies before walking away with their weapons. Later on, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) sent a mail to India Today office and took responsibility of the terror attack.The attack comes in the wake of an encounter with security forces in Anantnag district in which LeT commander Junaid Mattoo and his accomplice Muzamil were killed. Sources said today's attack was a revenge attack to retaliate against security forces. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police in its condolence message vowed to punish the perpetrators of the six policemen killed.It read, "The officer whom everybody loved and who could get the support and respect of everybody around will always be in our heart. This inhuman act will be punished and punished suitably. Condolences for all the men that we lost today."  In Delhi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval briefed Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the developments in Kashmir. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley also reviewed security situation in the Valley.Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of army, SOG, CRPF and police have launched a hunt to nab the assailants.INCREASE IN ATTACKS Of late there has been an escalation of militant attacks on Jammu and Kashmir police personnel.Even yesterday, two policemen were martyred in the state. One policeman was killed when terrorists attacked a police party near Hyderpora while another cop was shot dead in Kulgam.Earlier in the day, Director General of Police S P Vaid said it is because of the frustration of the ultras."We will take necessary measures. This is the frustration of the militants. Whether a militant is killed or a civilian or a cop, it is the Kashmiri who dies. The bloodshed will not take us anywhere, it is only the murder of humanity," the DGP told reporters here.He said the militants were targeting the local police as it was fighting them with eagerness."The local police works on the anti-militancy front with eagerness, that is why they (militants) are targeting them (police). But I am sure that we will control this soon," the DGP said.The DGP termed the constable's killing as "murder of humanity and Kashmiriyat".Also read:India Today accesses list of Kashmir's 10 most wanted terrorists