Eight soldiers killed, 19 injured in Srinagar Hizbul attack

INN News Desk

In Srinagar, eight soldiers of the Rashtriya Rifles are dead while 19 were wounded. Two sub-inspectors of the Jammu and Kashmir police were also injured. Earlier, two army soldiers died in the initial burst of machine gun fire. The army and the CRPF immediately retaliated but there is no information of any casualties to the militants. Hizbul Mujahideen has taken the responsiblity according to police sources.
Militants today fired at an army convoy at Bemina on the outskirts of Srinagar, a day ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s visit to the state capital. Two soldiers were injured in the attack. The militants reportedly fired 12 rounds at the military convoy. The army along with state police have cordoned off the entire area and a search operation is currently on.

The valley has been on high alert due to the Prime Minister’s visit tomorrow. The attack is being seen as an embarrassment to the state government as it pokes holes in their claims of having security arrangements in place for the high profile visit. The site of the attack is around 10 km away from the spot where Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are likely to participate in a function tomorrow.