Five migrant labourers from West Bengal were shot dead, another injured by militants in Kulgam district of south Kashmir Tuesday, news agency PTI reported. Another labourer is critically injured. Earlier in the day, militants opened fire on CRPF personnel stationed at a school in Drabgam in Pulwama district. No injuries were reported. The attack comes on a day a delegation of 23 European Union MPs arrived in Srinagar to assess the situation in the state after the Centre scrapped its special status under Article 370 on August 5. There was a complete shutdown in the city and at least four people were injured in numerous clashes between protesters and security personnel in various parts of the Valley ahead of their visit. On Monday, suspected militants shot dead a trucker after he had parked his apple-laden vehicle on a road in Anantnag district. In a separate incident, at least 19 civilians were injured after militants hurled a grenade in Sopore town in north Kashmir. Unlike the previous victims, who were not J&K residents, the trucker hailed from the Katra region of Jammu. Five persons, including three truckers, a fruit trader and a labourer, had earlier been killed in similar attacks this month in south Kashmir. On October 7, suspected militants shot dead Rajasthan resident Sharief Khan, a truck driver, in Sindhu Shirmaal village of Shopian. On October 16, suspected militants shot dead a labourer from Chhattisgarh in Pulwama. On the same day, militants fired on two small-time fruit traders from Punjab in Shopian, killing one and critically injuring another. On October 24, suspected militants fired at truckers in Trenz village of south Kashmir killing two and injuring one. The grenade attack, meanwhile, was the second such incident in Kashmir since Saturday evening. Health officials said six of the 19 injured had to be moved to Srinagar for specialised treatment.
