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| Terrorist caught on CCTV Footage/ Credit: Uttarakhand Hindi News |
A terrorist shot dead two policemen on a busy street in Srinagar on Friday, a day after a delegation of 24 foreign envoys concluded their visit to Jammu and Kashmir, officials familiar with the matter said.
A CCTV video of the incident released by the police shows the terrorist pulling out an assault rifle hidden inside his ‘pheran’, a loose over-garment worn during winters, and firing at the unarmed policemen in the city’s Baghat Barzulla area, which is situated along the high-security airport road, and fleeing from the spot. “The injured policemen, grade constable Mohammad Yousuf of Zurhama Kupwara and constable Suhail Ahmad of Logripora Aishmuqam, succumbed to injuries,” a police spokesperson said.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a terror group that is controlled by top handlers of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), took responsibility for the attack in a statement.
A police spokesperson said: “Preliminary investigation indicates involvement of two terrorists in the attack. One of them has been identified as Saqib, a local, and another FT (foreign terrorist), affiliated with LeT. Police have launched a manhunt to nab them.”
Politicians from across party lines condemned the attack.
“What makes this attack even more reprehensible is that SgCT Mohammad Yousuf of Zurhama and Ct Suhail Ahmad of Logripora were unarmed & shot in the back. Senseless & cowardly at the same time,” said former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
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People’s Democratic Party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the attack, saying the “cycle of violence only begets misery”. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Altaf Thakur termed the attack an act of cowardice. “There is no place for such cowardly acts and the attackers must be brought to book,” he said.
3 militants, one cop killed in separate encounters
Three suspected militants and a policeman were killed in two separate encounters in south Kashmir’s Shopian and Central Kashmir’s Budgam districts on Thursday night and early Friday, the police said. The Shopian shoot-out started during a joint operation by the police and the CRPF in Badigam village on Thursday night, the police said.
The other encounter took place early on Friday during a joint operation by the Budgam police and the CRPF in Zanigam Beerwah village on Friday.
3 held for attack on restaurant owner’s son
Meanwhile, three men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in an attack on a restaurant owner’s son here two days ago, when a 24-member delegation of foreign envoys arrived on a two-day visit to J&K, the police said on Friday.
Akash Mehra, son of the owner of Krishna Dhaba in Durganag area of the city, was shot at by unidentified men from a close range. “We have arrested three men, who were involved in the attack at Krishna Dhaba,” said IGP, Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar said.