Miltants strike near prominent hotel in Srinagar, one killed

The ultras numbering between three and five opened indiscriminate firing on an Army convoy near the four-star Silver Star hotel near Lasjan on Parimpora- Panthachowk bypass road at around 4.20 PM, police said. No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

A bell boy of the hotel, identified as Farooq Ahmad, and two other persons were injured in the firing by the militants, police said.

A police spokesman said initial investigations into the firing incident have shown that the militants had planned an attack on the highway which was not successful.

"They tried to enter a nearby Hotel which they could not and fired indiscriminately, killing one employee of the hotel and injuring two others," the spokesman added.

S M Sahai, IG(Kashmir), said it was not clear if the four-storey hotel was the target of the militants.

Sahai said police was working on leads in the hunt to nab the militants.

An army vehicle was damaged in the militant attack but none of the security force personnel were harmed.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to track down the militants.

The previous militant attack here was on May 30 when seven CRPF personnel were injured in an early morning terror strike at Rainawari in the heart of old Srinagar.