J&K: 5 jawans dead in CRPF camp attack at Pulwama

Srinagar: A CRPF inspector and four jawans were killed and three others injured after heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists stormed the force’s camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s southern Pulwama district on Sunday. Two militants, including a 16-year-old son of a police constable, were also killed.

“Two terrorists have been killed, so far. We suspect a third terrorist is hiding inside the camp. The operation has been suspended because of darkness,” a CRPF official said.

The officials said that the gunmen in combat dress entered the camp of the CRPF’s 185th battalion at Lethapora, outside the highway township of Awantipore, at around 2.15 am firing AK-47 rifles and hurling grenades at the sentry.

CRPF’s Srinagar-based spokesman Rajesh Yadav said that the officers and jawans present inside the camp quickly responded to the attack and engaged the assailants in a fierce gunbattle.

Another CRPF official said that the militants were carrying AK-47 rifles and under-barrel grenade launchers when they targeted the camp. After entering the camp, they took positions in a building block and the gunfight ensued.

The initial assault left one CRPF jawan dead and two wounded. Reinforcements from J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG), the Army and the CRPF were rushed in to counter the attackers, officials said.

During the exchange of fire two militants were killed whereas three more jawans of the CRPF laid down their lives and a few more were injured. One of the injured jawans died in hospital later, raising the toll to five.

A report said that one of the jawans died of cardiac arrest while being evacuated along with many others who were trapped in the camp’s residential buildings.

The slain CRPF jawans have been identified as Inspector Kuldip Roy, Head Constable Tufail Ahmed and Constables Sharief-ud-din Ganaie, Rajendra Nain and Pradeep Kumar Panda.

The two JeM militants killed in security forces’ counter assault were identified as Manzoor Ahmad Baba of Pulwama and Fardeen Ahmad Khanday of Tral. Police sources said that Khanday was 16-year-old and the son of a police constable.

J&K’s Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Vaid said, “There was an input from the last two-three days. They (militants) were trying. They probably could not get a place and time earlier. So, they struck last night.”

Terming the attack as unfortunate, the police chief said that as long as Pakistan keeps sending militants, security forces and people of Kashmir will continue to go through this.

“As long as our neighbour keeps sending people like this, my police and security forces and people of Kashmir will have to go through this. It is unfortunate that this happened.” the DGP said.  

The attack took place days after the security forces killed a top JeM commander Noor Muhammad Tantray alias Noor Trali in Pampore area of Pulwama. Mr Vaid had termed his killing as a “significant breakthrough”.