Gunmen injure 10 Indian paramilitaries during Independence Day shooting in Kashmir
AFP — PUBLISHED 21 MINUTES AGO
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SRINAGAR: Gunmen shot and injured 10 police paramilitaries Monday who were trying to impose a curfew in the main city of India-held Kashmir (IHK) during Indian Independence Day, security sources said.
Three of those who were wounded are in a serious condition, according to a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), after two separate attacks in the centre of Srinagar where security forces had been on high alert.
CRPF Spokesman Bhuvesh Chaudhary said that seven paramilitaries had been injured in the first attack in the Nowhatta neighbourhood and three others were injured shortly afterwards in another shooting close by.
Another security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that intermittent firing was still being heard in the neighbourhood and it was not yet clear how many gunmen had been involved.
Authorities have imposed a curfew in large parts of IHK since July 9 following an upsurge in violence sparked by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
At least 70 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan region since 2010.
Although Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no direct reference to the situation in Kashmir in his annual Independence Day speech on Monday he made a general appeal for youths to steer clear of violence.
"I want to tell these youths that this country will never tolerate terrorism, this country will never tolerate terrorists and this country will never bow down to terrorists." he said.
