CISF OFFICER KILLED BY MILITANTS IN KASHMIR
JeM CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NOWGAM ATTACK IN A PRESS NOTE TO A LOCAL NEWS AGENCY
SRINAGAR : A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer succumbed to his injuries after militants attacked him from a distance at a camp in Wagoora Nowgam, police said.
This is the third such attack on security personnel by Jaish-eMohammad (JeM) militants in the last one week.
Jaish-e-Mohammad spokesman in a press note to a local news agency claimed responsibility for the Nowgam attack and said sniper and grenade was used in the attack.
An official said there was a possibility a trained sniper with night vision-equipped rifles was involved in all three cases. “The officer — assistant sub-inspector Rajendra Prasad — was killed in a standoff fire by militants on Friday night. The attack was repulsed by the sentry at the spot. He was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to injuries,” said a police spokesman.
On Thursday night, a soldier was killed and another injured in a standoff attack by militants on an army camp in Lurgam Tral, Kashmir.
The soldier was identified as Sepoy Ngamsiamliana from Mizoram. On Sunday, JeM had targeted a CRPF camp at Midora in Pulwama district and killed a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawan, constable Vijay Kumar. The SSB jawans were deployed for the local body elections in Pulwama and were stationed in the CRPF camp. An official claimed that all three cases were standoffs, which were repulsed by alert jawans.
‘Sniper attacks worrisome’ Officials said that investigations are on to ascertain whether snipers with night vision devices were used in these attacks.
“For all three attacks, JeM has claimed responsibility which is an indication that a similar modus operandi could have been adopted while targeting the forces,” said an official.
“The situation could be alarming in case these were sniper attacks. We are still verifying the details. If snipers are used then forces will have to adopt preventive methods to avoid causalities in future,’’ a senior police officer said.