Two youth killed in Sopore firing

SRINAGAR - Two youth were killed in Sopore town in North Kashmir Friday evening as security personnel, returning from a gunfight, opened fire when a violent mob attacked their vehicle and set it ablaze, police said.

A senior police officer here said a highly agitated mob attacked and torched a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle in Sopore town as the troopers were returning from the Krankshivan area of the town where two guerrillas of Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) were killed and two security men injured in a gunfight. Earlier reports had identified the guerrillas as belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen.

“After their vehicle was attacked and torched, the CRPF jawans fired in self-defence injuring five people, two of whom later succumbed to injuries,” the police officer said.

The two killed youth have been identified as Shakeel Ahmad Ganai, son of Abdul Aziz Ganai of Lalad (Sopore) and Firdous Ahmad Kakroo, son of Nazir Ahmad Kakroo of Krankshivan (Sopore).

The other three injured people are being treated in the hospital.

High tension has gripped Sopore town in the wake of this incident and additional deployments of CRPF and police have been sent to maintain law and order there.

Sopore has been a hotbed of separatist violence since 1990s when the present separatist armed campaign started in Kashmir.