Big concern raised in Valley after terrorists resort to sniperattacks

Jammu, Oct 28: Security officials have raised concerns about the rise in sniper attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Early Saturday morning, a CISF official was killed in a suspected sniper attack at Nowgam on the outskirts of Srinagar.

While at first it was said that the official was killed in a stand off fire by terrorists, it is being suspected that the incident could have been a sniper attack. If confirmed then this would be the first time that terrorists are resorting to sniper attacks in the Valley.

On October 18 and 21, two such incidents were reported from Newa Pulwama and Midoora Tral. In the first attack, two CRPF personnel were wounded while in the second, an SSB jawan was killed.

While the Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the attack, the concern is that this new strategy by terrorists would require an overhaul of the security mechanism. The Sunday Express while citing a letter written by Kashmir IGP, S P Ani says that there is a concern over sniper attacks by terrorist groups.

The letter also suggests safety measures such as raising the height of the walls around security camps. Further the letter also states that there is a need to sensitise the forces to this new trend.