Cop killed, 8 injured in Sopore militant attacks (Night Lead)

SRINAGAR - A constable of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed and eight people were injured in separate guerrilla attacks in north Kashmir’s Sopore town Monday, while the security forces razed a house where militants were holed up, police said.

Militants fired rifle grenades at a Rashtriya Rifles camp and then barged into a house in Baghat area of Sopore, about 60 km from here.

“The house was surrounded and when the holed up militants were asked to surrender. They opened fire triggering an encounter (gunbattle),” an officer said.

The cordon around the house had been laid by 22 Rashtriya Rifles soldiers and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police. Three guerrillas were believed to be inside the house.

The police officer also asserted that all escape routes had been blocked for the guerrillas.

The house later came down during the security forces’ operation. A search for the militants inside, believed to be buried under the debris, will be undertaken Tuesday morning.

In a separate incident, guerrillas fired at a police team in Sopore Main Chowk near the State Bank of India building.

“Four people, including three police constables and a special police officer (SPO), were injured in the firing by militants at the Main Chowk this (Monday) morning,” the officer said. One of the injured constables, identified as Ghulam Hasan, later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

“The militants also fired a rifle grenade at the telephone exchange in Iqbal Nagar locality, injuring five people,” he added.

The office of the Sopore district police chief and the camp of the SOG are situated next to the telephone exchange building.