Four killed, eight injured as militants open fire on army convoy near Srinagar

At least four army personnel have been killed and eight injured as militants opened fire at an Army convoy near Bemina on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir Police said that the encounter took place along the Srinagar-Baramulla Highway.

Police sources were quoted by India Today and other media, as saying that at least one militant was holed up in the area, which was cordoned off following the attack.

The attack came a day before the scheduled arrival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson on a two-day visit to Srinagar.

Dr.Singh is expected to announce a package for the border districts of the state. The package will be for development and reconstruction of the border areas.

Dr. Singh and Mrs. Gandhi will also launch a train service between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu region that will provide an all-weather link to the valley which often gets cut off from rest of the country in the winter.

During his stay in Srinagar, Dr. Singh is expected to take stock of the implementation of the Rs.37,000-crore reconstruction package for the state that he had initiated in 2004 under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan.

The plan involves 67 projects and schemes covering 11 sectors of the economy, including expansion of infrastructure and basic services and employment generation.