Image source: Sajad Muniwardi
The cordon and search operation launched after the attack on a CRPF team in South Kashmir's Kulgam district continued for the second day on Thursday.
Three CRPF personnel – head constable Sonbir Singh and constables Santano Chandra and Rakesh Das – were injured in the attack that took place around 2:15 pm on Wednesday near Mir Bazaar area of Kulgam. Officials said that all three are now out of danger.
Eyewitnesses said that the site of the attack has been surrounded. On Thursday morning, forensic teams along with security forces and officials from different agencies were also seen in the area.
Kulgam SSP Anayat Ali Choudhary rejected the reports which claimed that the attack was carried out by bike-borne assailants.
He told the BBC, "The news that is going around is wrong."
No information was immediately available about the number of attackers who opened fire.
A source said that investigators suspect that the main attacker was wearing a pheran. During winter in Kashmir, people wear pheran over normal clothes to protect themselves from cold.
However, SSP Chaudhary neither confirmed nor denied it.
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According to the report of news agency PTI, two heavily armed extremists came out of a dense thicket of trees near the area and opened fire on the CRPF soldiers. After this they ran away towards the forest.
'The entire area echoed with the sound of bullets'
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After the attack, security has been increased in many areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
This attack took place on National Highway-44. This is an important route, which is used by security forces to travel between Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu.
A shopkeeper in the Mir Bazaar area, near the attack site, told the BBC on condition of anonymity that he first heard screaming and then saw some people running to save their lives.
He said, "The entire area echoed with the sound of bullets. I closed my shop and ran away in panic."
A video of the attack was also recorded in the CCTV camera installed in the area, which has gone viral on social media.
In one of its clips, at least two uniformed people can be seen running towards a safe place amid the sound of gunfire.
During this, the sounds of some people screaming are also heard behind.
Dr. Bilal Musharraf Bande, Medical Superintendent of Government Medical College, Anantnag, said that three CRPF soldiers were brought to the hospital.
He told the BBC, "The condition of all three is stable. However, on the request of the authorities, one of the soldiers has been sent to the Army Base Hospital in Srinagar."
What did Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha say
Image source: Getty Images
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir visited the Army Hospital in Srinagar and said that the culprits of the attack will be brought to justice.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also held a meeting at Lok Bhawan to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sinha wrote on social media platform
The attack has also been condemned by the ruling National Conference, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and other leaders.
To arrest the attackers, several joint teams of Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police started a search operation in the areas adjacent to the attack site.
A source said that for the second consecutive day on Thursday, security forces interrogated dozens of people in these cordoned-off areas.
Checkpoints have been made at some places in Kulgam, where security forces stopped public transport vehicles and private cars and searched the passengers.
However, this time people have not been detained on a large scale in Kashmir, as has been happening after such attacks in the past.
A new organization took responsibility for the attack
A new organization named 'Pasdaran-e-Hurriyat' has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement circulated on social media platform X and other mediums.
However, officials have not yet confirmed this claim.
Security agencies believe that such new organizations act as front organizations for Pakistan-based organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba to continue their extremist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and divert the attention of the international community.
Bodies of two special police officers found in Kishtwar
Meanwhile, two special police officers had gone missing in the Dachhan area of the hilly Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Their bullet-riddled bodies were recovered on Thursday morning.
No extremist organization has yet taken responsibility for this incident, which took place a few hours after the Kulgam attack.
The hilly Kishtwar district of Jammu region has seen an increase in extremist activities in recent times.
An army soldier was killed and several others were injured during an encounter in the district in January this year.
After this, in February, three suspected extremists, including a top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed, were killed by security forces.
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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