Parrikar pays tribute to martyrs at Badami Bagh cantonment

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday paid tribute to martyrs at the Badami Bagh army cantonment here. The army soldiers were killed in the deadly militant attack in Uri last week.

Parrikar, who is on his first visit to the state since taking over as the Defence Minister last month, will reportedly also visit the headquarters of the 15 Corps in Srinagar.

Jammu and Kashmir, which is in the midst of its five-phase state assembly elections, yesterday faced four terror attacks, which were aimed at undermining the democratic process.

The first attack, a pre-dawn hit on an army camp in the Uri sector of Baramullah reportedly left eight army personnel and three state policemen dead. In the operation, six militants were also killed.

The second attack took place in the state's capital Srinagar. Firing between militants and security forces left one militant dead.

The third and fourth attack consisted of grenades being flung in Pulwama and Shopian.

The attacks were condemned by various political parties, who had previously stated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had chosen ballots, not bullets to voice their opinion.

In the first and second phase of the elections, which took place on November 25 and December 2, the state saw a record turnout of over 70 percent, while the third phase witnessed 58 percent voting.