8 jawans killed, 19 injured in Kashmir militant attack

Suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militants on Monday ambushed an army convoy, killing eight jawans and injuring 19 others near Hyderpora on the outskirts here.

The attack came on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack took place at 4.35 p.m. near Classic hospital on the Panthachowk-Parimpora stretch on the national highway leading to north Kashmir, when a convoy of 35 Rashtriya Rifles was going to its base camp at Budgam.

Three militants, armed with AK assault rifles, attacked the convoy from the front as well as back, killing eight jawans and injuring 16 others. The militants, who had snatched a motorcycle from two students in the nearby Baghat area, fled from the scene on the two-wheeler as the Army cordoned off the area.

While fleeing, the militants were intercepted by a joint party of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Barzulla. The ultras hurled a grenade and opened firing, resulting in injuries to a CRPF sub-inspector, a policeman and a civilian woman. The militants then boarded a black Santro car and sped from the place.