At least five army personnel were killed and six others injured as militants opened fire on an army convoy on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.
“A little while ago one of these army vehicles coming from the side of Panth Chowk going towards the Baramulla bypass has been fired upon by a couple of terrorists who came from one of the side…and they apparently pumped in a number of bullets into the army vehicles. Apparently, some casualties have taken place,” said CRPF Inspector General (IG) Nalin Prabhat.
“After running away from there, they have also stuck at one or two other place in the city,” he added.
This audacious attack took place on the eve of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh””s two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr. Singh is expected to announce a package for the border districts of the state. The package will be for development and reconstruction of the border areas.
The Prime Minister, who will be accompanied by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, will also launch a train service between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu region that will provide an all-weather link to the valley which often gets cut off from rest of the country in the winter.
During his stay in Srinagar, Dr. Singh is expected to take stock of the implementation of the Rs. 37, 000-crore reconstruction package for the state that he had initiated in 2004 under the Prime Minister””s Reconstruction Plan.
The plan involves 67 projects and schemes covering 11 sectors of the economy, including expansion of infrastructure and basic services and employment generation. (ANI)