Militants strike at two places in Kashmir; one killed, 4 hurt

Militants today struck at two places in Kashmir, killing a civilian and injuring three other people, including a soldier, police said.

Militants first fired at the franchisee of BSNL at Iqbal Market in Sopore, 52 kms from here. The attack was apparently directed at telecom operators who have been threatened earlier, a police officer said.

Three workers of the BSNL franchisee were injured in the firing and they were rushed to a local hospital, where doctors referred them to a hospital in Srinagar for treatment, the officer said.

One among the injured, Mohammad Rafiq (26), a resident of Handwara area of Kupwara district, succumbed to his injuries at the Srinagar hospital.

The two injured, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat (40) and Imtiyaz Ahmad Lone (30), both residents of Sopore township, were being treated, the officer said.

This was the second terror attack in Sopore in less than 48 hours. Earlier during the intervening night of May 23 and 24, suspected ultras had hurled a grenade at a residential compound where a mobile transmission tower was installed.

Although officials were tight-lipped as to why the militants were targeting telecom installations, sources said the ultras were upset about "theft" of their communication equipment from mobile transmission towers in Sopore and surrounding areas earlier this month.

The militants had allegedly installed communication equipment atop the towers of private and PSU companies.

After the attack in Sopore, militants today struck in Kulgam area of south Kashmir by firing on a patrol party of army, resulting in injuries to one soldier.

A patrolling vehicle of One Rashtriya Rifles was attacked by the militants at Kanjikulla in Yaripora area of Kulgam, 80 kms from here, police said.

The area has been cordoned off and a search operation launched to track down the assailants, he added.