CRPF jawan, 3 LeT militants killed; officer among 13 injured in J

Srinagar, Mar 31 (UNI) A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) head constable and three militants of Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed while 13 others, including an officer, were injured in Jammu and Kashmir overnight, official sources said today.

They said militants today triggered a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which was planted on the main road at Soura at 1130 hrs.

A CRPF vehicle was damaged in the blast, sources said, adding Assistant Commandant Abdul Rashid and four jawans besides a civilian were injured in the explosion. The injured were admitted to nearby Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) where a head constable Madan Singh died.

Later security forces and police conducted search operation in the area.

A UNI correspondent who visited the site of the blast saw a big crater in the middle of Dr Ali Jan road, about half a km away from SKIMS.

A large number of people present in the hospital ran towards the main building of the SKIMS after the blast.

A caller who identified himself as spokesman of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) claimed six security personnel were killed in the blast.

This was the fourth blast in the city and its outskirts during the past one week. More than 20 people, including six security personnel were injured in these blasts.

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