Hizbul ultras snatch rifles from security guards in Anantnag
AK47 and INSAS rifles taken away by militants
SRINAGAR : Militants on Friday night snatched two weapons from the guards of a protected person in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Militant outfit –Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack and posted pictures of weapons on social media.
Police spokesman said an AK-47 and INSAS rifle were snatched by militants at Dabrun Anantnag from PSOS of Sayed Gowhar of Asnoor Watoo Kulgam. “The protected person was reportedly on a visit to his relative’s home,’’ the spokesman said.
In the past four days, police claimed to have foiled two attempts by militants to snatch weapons from policemen in South Kashmir. The attempts were foiled after policemen fired on the militants forcing them to flee. Following a number of incidents of weapon snatching, Jammu and Kashmir police had blamed it on smart phones and banned its use for sentries during duty hours.
Inspector general of police, S P Pani, however, said there has been a decline in the incidents of weapon snatching from year 2016 and 2017. “Weapon snatching has now shifted to Central Kashmir,’’ he said. On Wednesday, a policeman guarding a BJP leader in North Kashmir’s Sopore decamped with the rifle of his colleague. In past, there have been several incidents of weapon snatching or stealing attempts from the police post.
This month alone police has lost nine weapons in these incidents of weapon snatching. Later militants posted picture of weapons on social media. On May 11, a constable was killed in a suspected militant attack on a police post set up to guard members of the minority community residing in Central Kashmir’s Budgam.
The militants wanted to snatch weapons from the policemen but the cop, who was waylaid by militants outside his post, raised an alarm. Last month, suspected militants took four rifles from policemen deputed at a police post in Hyderpora on city outskirts. As per the government data presented in state assembly in January, as many as 149 guns were looted by militants in Jammu and Kashmir in past three years out of which 76 were recovered.
MILITANT GROUPS ARE WAITING NEAR LOC LAUNCHPADS: ARMY
SRINAGAR :A day after the killing of five infiltrators on the Line of Control in North Kashmir’s Tanghdar sector, army said several groups of militants are waiting on the launching pads to sneak into the valley. The army also claimed that latest weaponry was recovered from the infiltrators and the infiltration took place close to Pakistani post.
On Saturday, army had killed five militants believed to be foreigners who had sneaked into the valley after cutting the barbed wire fencing on the LOC in Tanghdar sector of Kupwara district. “We had credible inputs about the infiltration of the militants. We detected their movement on May 24 on the icy peaks. So ambush was laid at several places on and infiltrators walked into ambush and were challenged, they retaliated starting a gunfight,’’ Brigadier P K Mishra, Commander Tanghdar Brigade told the media.
“Infiltrators into two groups tried to withdraw but troops foiled that attempt and all were killed.” He said five weapons and lot of other arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of infiltrators which had Pakistani markings.