Srinagar attack Live: Army casualty rises to eight, three critical

20.05 pm Toll rises to eight, 8 injured According to latest updates by CNN-IBN, the army casualty has risen to eight while three more are battling for life. Eight more soldiers were also injured. 18: 30 pm: 5 dead, 13 jawans injured in attack The Indian Army confirmed that five persons were killed in the attack. https://twitter.com/adgpi/status/349148600984555520 18:05 pm: No change in PM’s schedule Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not be altering his schedule on account of the attack and will be going to Srinagar. PMO sources said there is no change in the Prime Minister’s schedule. Singh will be undertaking a two-day visit along with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to Jammu and Kashmir from tomorrow. During the visit, Singh is expected to announce a package for border areas of the state. The Prime Minister and Gandhi will also launch train service between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu, providing an all-weather surface link to the Valley that often gets cut off from rest of the country in the winter due to heavy snowfall. (PTI) 17:55 pm: Army confirms that two jawans dead in attack The Army has confirmed on Twitter that at least two jawans were killed in the attack. https://twitter.com/adgpi/status/349141088155602945 17:50 pm: Official says group fled after attacking army convoy, attacked other locations A paramilitary official said that the group involved in the attack had fled after the incident and had struck in other areas of Srinagar as well. “There have been casulaties but the Army would be able to say how many casualties are there. There may be two to three casualties but it isn’t certain,” a paramilitary official said. The grooup of persons involved in the attack had fled from the strike and had struck at one or two other places in the city, the official said. He said armed forces were currently trying to figure where the attackers were  presently. 5:45 pm: Reports of a second incident of firing NDTV reports that there is a second incident of firing near the Srinagar airport road, but said that it was still to be confirmed. No other news outlet has confirmed the second incident of firing yet and whether the two incidents are connected in any way. 5:45 pm: Images from attack ANI has tweeted some images from the site of the attack near Srinagar: https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/349137667528740865 5:45 pm: Hizbul Mujahideen takes responsibility, one jawan dead According to CNN-IBN, terror group Hizbul Mujahideen has taken responsibility for the attack. Contrary to earlier reports, the channel reports that one jawan was killed an one was critically injured in the attack. 5.15 pm: As per Times Now updated reports, four soldiers of the 35 Rashtriya Rifles are dead while seven are wounded, some critically. Two sub-inspectors of the Jammu and Kashmir police were also injured. Earlier, Times Now said that two army soldiers died in the initial burst of machine gun fire. 4.50pm: The army and the CRPF immediately retaliated but there is no information of any casualties to the militants. 4.45pm: Militants today fired at an army convoy at Bemina on the outskirts of Srinagar, a day ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s visit to the state capital. [caption id=“attachment_901463” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Challenging militants. PTI[/caption] According to CNN-IBN, two soldiers were injured in the attack. The militants reportedly fired 12 rounds at the military convoy. The army along with state police have cordoned off the entire area and a search operation is currently on. The valley has been on high alert due to the Prime Minister’s visit tomorrow. The attack is being seen as an embarrassment to the state government as it pokes holes in their claims of having security arrangements in place for the high profile visit. The site of the attack is around 10 km away from the spot where Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are likely to participate in a function tomorrow.