Defence personnel, police official killed in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jun 10 (UNI) A defence personnel and a special police officer (SPO) were killed while 12 people, including three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men, wounded in a grenade blast in the Kashmir valley overnight, an official spokesman said today.

Unidentified gunmen barged into the residence of SPO Manzoor Ahmed Parra at Tappar Bala in Pattan area of Baramulla district at around 2100 hrs last night and fired upon him point blank.

Parra, attached with the Special Operation Group (SOG), a counter-insurgency force of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, was killed on the spot.

In another incident, police recovered the throat-slit body of Mushtaq Ahmed Naikoo from a tube well near his Shah Shali Khrew residence in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The deceased was working in the Military Engineering Service.

Suspected militants shot at and wounded Jameel Hussain Reshi at Saidpora in Sopore area of Baramulla district at around 2110 hrs last night. Reshi, 35, was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Meanwhile, suspected militants hurled a hand grenade on a patrol party of CRPF's 137 battalion at Habak crossing near the Hazratbal shrine on the city outskirts last night.

Three CRPF men, a traffic personnel and seven pedestrians were wounded in the explosion. The injured were hospitalised. Security forces later cordoned off the area to nab the attackers.

A defence spokesman said troops of 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) busted a militant hideout in the house of Manzoor Ahmed at Lilahar village, about 8 km from Pulwama, last night and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including an AK-56 rifle, from there.

Manzoor Ahmed, a surrendered militant, was earlier associated with Al-Jehad outfit.

He said troops of 13 RR, acting on a tip-off, conducted search operation in Nawabatu general area near Manasbal and apprehended an over ground worker of militants, identified as Nazir Ahmed Lone.

UNI