Srinagar: A group of two or three Militants is firing at security forces from inside a government institute in Pampore, 15 km from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. An army soldier is reported injured. Parts of the building suffered damages in a fire.
The information being shared here is delayed so as not to jeopardize the security forces fighting the Militants.
The Militants entered the building, which was also targeted in a major attack in February, at 6:30 am. The seven-storey building has more than 50 rooms.
Sources said that Militants who broke into the institute in the morning approached the campus on the outskirts of Srinagar through boats on the River Jhelum, which flows in Pakistan. The Militants then set sections of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) hostel building on fire to lure security forces. When they arrived, a major gunbattle broke out. Explosions were heard since the morning.
“We are confident of neutralising the Militants as soon as possible,” an army officer supervising the operation said.
Intel agencies have been warning of terror attacks in retaliate on for the surgical strikes conducted by India across the Line of Control two weeks ago. Soldiers raided staging areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where Militants were waiting to cross the border and attack major cities, the army has said.