3 BSF troopers killed in Hizb ambush in Kashmir

Three BSF troopers were killed and 10 others, among them three civilians, were injured on Friday in a Hizb-ul-Mujhadeen attack on a security forces convoy in south Kashmir's Bijbehara town, police sources said.

A police official here in Srinagar told IANS that "a BSF convoy coming from Jammu to Srinagar was ambushed by militants on the highway in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district".

Militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujhadeen claimed the responsibility of the attack. Its operational spokesperson Burhanuddin told a local news agency that "several Indian troopers were killed in the attack carried out by a special squad of the outfit".

"Besides the death of these troopers, many more were critically injured," he said, vowing "the attacks on the security establishments will continue".

Following the attack, heavy exchange of fire was underway in the town situated on the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway No.1A, according to eyewitnesses.

The injured BSF troopers have been shifted to a Srinagar hospital, the police sources added.

The attackers were holed up inside the government sub-district hospital building.

The eyewitnesses said security forces immediately cordoned off the area after the attack which sparked panic in the area. Traffic on the busy national highway was also suspended.

--IANS

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