Five CRPF personnel killed in attack on police party in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag; incident comes weeks before Amarnath Yatra

Five CRPF personnel were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag on Wednesday, while three personnel have sustained injuries.

The deceased jawans have been identified as Assistant Sub Inspectors Ramesh Kumar and Nirod Sarma,,hailing from Haryana’s Jhajjar and Assam’s Nalbari respectively, and constables Satendra Kumar, Mahesh Kumar and Sandeep Yadav, residents of Uttar Pradesh;s Muzaffarnagar, Ghazipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas respectively.

Forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to search for the militants. Jammu and Kashmir Police had shared an intelligence input about a possible terror strike on security forces around the general bus stand in the area.

Al-Umar Mujahideen, a defunct terror group, claimed responsibility for the strike. However, officials said that it was a handiwork of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The patrol party of the CRPf’s 116th battalion was attacked by automatic rifles followed by hurling of grenades, according to PTI.

In the attack that comes a few weeks ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, Arshad Ahmed, the SHO of Anantnag has been critically injured and admitted to a hospital in Srinagar for treatment. Security forces eliminated one of the militants, even as heavy firing was reported in the area.

The attack, which targeted a police party, took place at the Khanabal-Pahalgham Road area in the district situated in south Kashmir. The Amarnath Yatra passes by KP Road every year.

Jammu & Kashmir: Injured CRPF personnel are receiving medical treatment at the government hospital in #Anantnag. pic.twitter.com/VymXc7MkVI

— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019

With inputs from PTI