Kashmir: 8 Jawans Killed in Militant Ambush

Srinagar, June 25: In a terror attack in Kashmir, eight soldiers were killed and around 13 were injured, after Hizbul Mujahideen allegedly carried out a terror attack on Monday. This happened when the militants open fired at a convoy of Army soldiers, a day before the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were to visit Kishtwar to address a public rally.

Although the Mujahideen took onus of the attacks, the intelligence believes that it was a war game played by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is based out of Pakistan. But why did the army personnel not fire back is something that is yet to be confirmed. While the Jammu and Kashmir police believes that they were unarmed as they were returning from a vacation, the Army believes otherwise.

There are theories too that the armed escort for the soldiers was travelling at a distance, which made them a very soft target.

Once done with the firing, the militants fled in a motorcycle, but were stopped by the police check-post about 5 kilometers away. Smelling danger, they lobbed a grenade and injured a CRPF officer and a Jammu and Kashmir police officer. They then abandoned the bike and fled in a car with tinted glass windows.

Eye-witnesses say that one of the militants seemed to be a Pakistani and the other seemed to be a police officer with Khakhi trousers and black jacket. Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks, calling it cowardly", and confirmed that his plans to visit Kashmir is undeterred.

On his two-day trip, he along with the Congress President will inaugurate the train service from Qazigund to Banihal today.

OneIndia News