Five killed; 3 women among 10 wounded; IEDs seized in J

Srinagar, Aug 15 (UNI) Four civilians and a soldier were killed and ten others, including three women, wounded while security forces seized two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of 10 kg each across Jammu and Kashmir overnight, an official spokesman said today.

He said two civilians, caught in an exchange of fire between the militants and the security forces, were killed at Dragran Khandaypora under the Aishmuqam police station in south Kashmir district of Anantnag last evening.

A soldier was also killed and four security force personnel were wounded in the gunfight.

The incident triggered massive protests in the village and the adjoining areas.

The spokesman said in the nearby Charakpora village where the people were protesting against the incident, a person tried to break the cordon. He was asked to stop, but ignored the warning and tried to escape, prompting the security personnel to open fire.

The person sustained injuries and was immediately rushed to a hospital, he said, adding three women were also wounded in the melee that followed the incident.

A person, Manzoor Ahmed Bhat, wounded in a grenade blast at Sopore last evening, succumbed to wounds in the hospital today.

Police today recovered throat-slit body of a woman, Lali, from a cowshed outside her house at Dooniwari, Lolab in Kupwara district.

The spokesman said security forces and the police arrested a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant at Haff Shermal, Zainapora in Pulwama district and seized two hand grenades and 15 AK rounds last evening.

In a joint operation, the Army and the Police today seized two hand grenades and two IEDs weighing 10 kg each in an open field in Kandi area of Rajouri district in Jammu region.

He said two people, Mohammad Azad and Mohammad Bashir, were today wounded in an explosion at Pangai, Thanamandi in Rajouri district.

The spokesman said during a search operation in the forest varea of Kharak, Kalakote sector in Rajouri district last evening, security forces seized one Pakistan-made 7.63 mm pistol, one magazine and 13 rounds.

UNI AG VD RAI2100