Militant attack in J&K: Civilian killed, policeman critical

In a third militant attack in less than two weeks, a civilian was killed and a policeman critically wounded when alleged militants fired on a police patrol in Sopore on Sunday. The militants also snatched the weapon of the injured policeman.

"The militants fired only three shots. Two of them hit the policeman while the third hit a civilian," Superintendent of Police Sopore Mir Imtiyaz told The Indian Express. "The civilian was hit in the head while the policeman was hit in the neck and is critical".

The shootout took place on Sunday afternoon when the policemen — part of a patrol — disembarked from their vehicle to clear a traffic jam at the busy Iqbal Market in Sopore town. As they attempted to clear traffic, militants fired at one of them from close range. While two bullets hit policeman Kishore Kumar in the neck, the third bullet missed the target and hit a pedestrian.

The Valley has witnessed a resurgence in militant attacks after the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

This is the third militant attack since March 13 when two fidayeen killed five CRPF personnel in Bemina in Srinagar. The fidayeen attack was followed by a shootout eight days later. On March 21, a BSF personnel was killed and another wounded when militants fired on their vehicle at Nowgam on the outskirts of Srinagar city.

The police have identified the civilian who was killed in Sunday's attack as Abdul Rashid. A resident of Drusoo Rafiabad, Rashid was declared brought dead at the hospital. Kumar was also shifted to the hospital but doctors say he is still critical. After firing at Kumar, the militants had snatched his AK-47 rifle and fled. Imtiyaz said that Kumar was ahead of other personnel when he was fired at by the militants. "Our men didn't retaliate as it could have caused civilian casualties," he added.

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