Five CRPF men die in attack on J&K camp
JAISH STRIKE 2 militants storm Pulwama training facility
SRINAGAR: Five soldiers and two gunmen were killed when militants stormed a CPRF camp in a pre-dawn strike in south Kashmir on Sunday, an official said, capping off a year in which security forces upped the offensive but also suffered losses in the border state.
Three Central Reserve Police Force men were injured in the Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose top leader was gunned down in the district on December 26.
The soldiers were in hospital but stable. “Two militants have been killed. Search is on for the third militant. Operation is still on,’’ CRPF inspector-general Ravideep Sahi said.
At least three heavily armed militants hurled grenades and entered the 185th battalion camp of the CRPF in Lethpora at around 2am, sources said.
The personnel on sentry duty returned fire, and a gunbattle broke out, sources said.
The militants made a dash for
block three, which housed a day clinic and a control room, of the main building complex and kept firing. While Block 2 had offices, Block 1 was a residential accommodation and all its 15-20 occu-
pants were evacuated, sources said. Three personnel were hit in the first few minutes of the militants entering the camp situated along the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway.