Five Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were injured in a militant attack on the outskirts of Srinagar city while three suspected militants, one of them injured, were arrested after a brief shootout in the suburbs of Srinagar. The attacks have come a day after militants shot dead a police officer and a political worker. In the past month, the Valley has seen a spurt in militant attacks. On Sunday evening, militants fired on a BSF vehicle at Panthachowk, injuring five personnel. Sources said two BSF vehicles were on way from Humhama to BSF headquarters when the militants appeared from a bylane and opened indiscriminate fire on one of the vehicles. The BSF vehicles were targeted less than 100 m from the camp. “Five personnel were injured in the attack,” said a senior BSF official. “All of them received bullet injuries below the chest and are stable”. Sources said that soon after the attack, the militants escaped. Police and paramilitary forces cordoned off the area to trace the militants. In a separate incident, police said they arrested three suspected militants after a brief shootout at Narbal on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway. On Monday afternoon, after specific inputs about militant movement, the police set up a checkpoint at Narbal. “Vehicle-borne terrorists were intercepted at a checkpoint at Narbal, leading to a brief exchange of fire, in which one terrorist sustained injuries while two others were apprehended,” police said in a statement. “The injured has been evacuated to a hospital for medical attention.” Police sources said the vehicle was coming from north Kashmir and was on way to south Kashmir when it was intercepted. Police claimed to have recovered arms and ammunition from the vehicle.
