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Grenade attack in Kashmir's Shopian; 14 injured

Militants fire rifle grenades towards security forces camp | Zee News

Last Updated: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 23:36
Srinagar: Militants on Friday night fired two rifle grenades towards a security forces camp in Sopore town of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.

"Militants fired two rifle grenades in Sopore town but they exploded mid air without causing any damage," a police official said.

The official said that the security forces camp was the apparent target of the attack. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of mobile towers installed?in the vicinity of the camp being the target.

Militants have carried out four attacks on mobile telecom installations and people associated with these installations in Sopore and nearby Pattan area in the past week.

Two persons have been killed and three others injured in these strikes by the militants.

PTI
 
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Attack on BSNL towers displays separatists' desperation: Prasad | Zee News

New Delhi: Separatists trying to use telecom towers in Jammu and Kashmir indicates their desperation, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday, while asking the state government to ensure the safety of communications infrastructure.

A spate of attacks against telecom employees and those who have rented out space for installation of mobile towers in their fields has thrown the communication system in north Kashmir's Baramulla into disarray.

Suspected militants on Monday shot dead an employee of a BSNL franchisee and injured two others in Sopore town.

"I sympathise for death of BSNL employees in J&K. I am in touch with senior officers there... Some separatist elements trying to use our towers is a clear indication of how desperate they are," Prasad said at a Cabinet briefing here.

Following the attacks, telecom employees have stopped maintaining the mobile towers and those having franchise of telecom companies started distancing themselves from such services.

"I request J&K government that tower safety is necessary to ensure that there are no call drops. I commend the courage shown by our BSNL officers to protect the towers," Prasad said.

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.

PTI
 
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Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief K Rajendra (Centre) with other senior officers addressing a press conference in Srinagar (Photo: PTI)

Hizbul Mujahideen behind attacks on telecom employees in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday said terror outfit Hizbul Mujhahideen was behind the recent string of attacks on mobile service providers in the Valley.

Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar, on the sidelines of a sports tournament here, told reporters that the banned terror outfit was behind the spate of attacks that left two persons dead.

"According to our information, it is Hizbul Mujhahideen. Undoubtedly it is doing it (the attacks on telecom employees)," he said.

Suspected militants on Monday had shot dead an employee of a BSNL franchisee and injured two others in Sopore town. The father of a sarpanch, who had a mobile transmission tower installed inside his residential compound, was on Tuesday shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Sopore town.

Meanwhile, the DGP said telecom services that were disrupted during the attacks would be restored soon.

"Yesterday we visited Sopore and had a meeting with our officers and other stakeholders, including the civilians, who have been calling us and saying they were facing difficulties. Their businesses have been affected and also the students studying outside were also facing difficulties contacting their families.”

"There will be appropriate action in this. We have chalked out a strategy. It may take some time, but things will be restored back to normal," he said.

"I want to assure you that we will restore the telecom services as soon as possible," Kumar said.

Kumar said the police was investigating the matter and would ensure that the law shall prevail.

"Let me assure all of you... we will take action and we have taken action. We will ensure that the law shall prevail. We cannot allow this to continue further. We are investigating into the matter," the DGP said.

On a question about reports of posters warning mobile service providers to wind up their businesses appearing in other parts of the Valley, the top cop said police has "taken notice of all that".

Asked about Amnesty International and a Jammu and Kashmir minister seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns, the DGP said police was looking into the issue as it wanted to minimise casualties.

"We are looking into these things. We would like to avoid any sort of casualties. We are also concerned. See, they are our own boys and we are certainly concerned about it. We are looking into all aspects as to how to minimise any sort of casualties," he said.

Kumar said the police was trying to refine further after pellet guns created problems.

"See, first we wanted to avoid fatal casualties, so we went for these pellet guns. Now, since pellet guns are also creating some problems, so we are trying to refine further to reduce the casualties. Even if they are not fatal, still we will try to reduce them. We want to avoid casualties. After all they are our boys," he said.

The DGP was speaking to reporters at a press conference, which was organised to announce Police-Public Cricket Premier League here on the pattern of Twenty20 Indian Premier League.

Ten teams will compete in the tournament beginning June 6. "The objective of organising this is to promote sports culture in the state, to provide platform to cricketers to hone their skills and help the cricketers to feel the aroma of IPL at Srinagar," he said.

Police have organised various attractions including laser show, fire dance and music band performances for the opening ceremony of the event.

Militants have also threatened local people, and in the past five days shot dead one man who was working at a mobile phone shop in the Sopore area and another man who had a cell phone tower installed on his property. (Photo: PTI)
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A paramilitary soldier gives directions as he stand on a fire engine, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a building in Srinagar.
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Three militants killed in Kashmir - The Hindu
Updated: June 1, 2015 11:15 IST
Three militants were killed late on Sunday in an ongoing gun battle with the Army in Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

“Three militants were killed in Tangdhar town near the LoC (Line of Control) in a fierce gun battle with the Army. The operation against the militants is still going on,” a senior police officer said.

“A group of heavily armed militants had tried to enter the brigade headquarters of the Army and their attempt has been foiled.”

“Two private houses were destroyed in the battle between the security forces and the militants because they were being used as fortified bunkers by the militants after their attempt to enter the brigade headquarters failed,” he added.



 
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Militants again target mobile phone facility in J&K - The Hindu
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A car that was damaged in a grenade attack in Srinagar on Monday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

In yet another incident of militants targeting a communication facility in Kashmir, a grenade was on Monday thrown at a mobile transmission tower in a downtown locality of Srinagar, causing panic in the area.

The compound, owned by one Abdul Ahad Haji at Gadoodbagh in Habbakadal, houses two mobile towers, the sources said, adding the explosion caused damage to a private car parked there.

A police spokesman said, “We are investigating the matter and analysing the nature of the explosive.”

The attack comes after a series of strikes on communication facilities by militants in north Kashmir’s Sopore and Pattan townships in Baramulla district and Handwara in Kupwara district which have left two persons dead.

The ultras are believed to be upset about “theft” of their communication equipment from mobile transmission towers in Sopore and surrounding areas earlier this month.

A lesser-known militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Islam, has claimed responsibility for the attacks in north Kashmir and asked the mobile operators to wind up services across the Valley.
 
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Mobile tower blast sets off alarm bells in Srinagar - The Hindu
Updated: June 2, 2015 03:13 IST
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Police arrest two suspected militants in Pulwama on Monday in connection with the attack on a mobile tower at Habba Kadal in Srinagar city.
Fearing attacks, mobile recharge vendors and franchise outlets are shutting down shops

A grenade blast at a government-run cellular service tower in Srinagar on Monday set the alarm bells ringing across the city with most mobile recharge vendors and franchise outlets shutting down their shops fearing more attacks.

“A rifle grenade was fired at a BSNL mobile tower site in Habbakadal on Monday around noon. A civilian, Imtiyaz Ahmad Shahoo, was injured in the attack,” a senior police officer said.

The attack in Srinagar has come in the backdrop of three similar attacks in north Kashmir that killed two persons and left two injured. An unknown militant outfit — Lashkar-e-Islam — claimed responsibility for the attacks. The outfit had earlier put up posters across the Valley warning people associated with cellular services to shut down their shops.

On Monday, mobile services, except for the State-run BSNL, were down in most parts of north Kashmir, including Sopore, Baramulla, Kupwara and Handwara. In south Kashmir, mobile services were down in Pulwama and Anantnag districts.

As the news of the attack in Srinagar spread, mobile recharge kiosks and the franchise outlets of cellular service companies rolled down their shutters. At Lal Chowk, vendors even removed the hoardings and stickers of cellular companies. “All of us are afraid. We don’t want to be killed for selling recharge coupons. We do not understand this attack, but we have decided to lay low till things get better,” a grocery store owner who also sells mobile recharge coupons told The Hindu. “We were living before the recharge coupons came, we will manage again.”

Mobile service operators anticipate challenging times ahead for their operations. “If there is a law and order problem and towers are being blown up, the first thing people will do is to save their lives. So unless this problem is tackled, we expect the mobile towers to shut down, which has already happened in north and south Kashmir and now seems to be happening in Srinagar,” said D.K. Aggarwal, general manager of BSNL.
 
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Government employee gunned down in Kashmir
  • Updated: Jun 09, 2015 14:07 IST
Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot dead a health department employee in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town, police said.
"Unidentified gunmen fired from close range at Muhammad Altaf Sheikh near the bus stop in Sopore town today (Tuesday)," a senior police officer told IANS here.

Sheikh was taken to a hospital in a critical condition where doctors declared him dead.

An FIR has been lodged, the officer added.

Police sources said Sheikh, 45, a resident of Iqbal Nagar, was affiliated with the hardline Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani.

No group has yet taken responsibility for the murder.
 
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Unidentified gunmen kill former militant in Jammu and Kashmir | Zee News
Last Updated: Sunday, June 14, 2015 - 11:04
Srinagar: Unidentified gunmen on Sunday shot at and killed a former militant at Sopore town in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

"Unidentified gunmen shot dead Mehraj-ud-din Dar, a former militant of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) outside his home in Sopore town this morning. Dar died on the spot," a senior police officer told IANS in Srinagar.

This is the third mysterious killing by unidentified gunmen in the last six days.

On Tuesday (June 9), the gunmen had killed Altaf Sheikh, a former militant in Sopore town.

On Friday (June 12), Khurshid Ahmed Bhatt, an activist of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's Tehreek-e-Hurriyat party was killed in Bomai (Sopore) .

No guerrilla group has owned responsibility for these killings.

Geelani has blamed 'Indian agents' for these killings.

IANS

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LeT guerrilla who attacked police arrested in Kashmir | Zee News

Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant who had attacked policemen and was planning to carry out more subversive activities, has been arrested in Jammu and Kashmir`s Shopian district, police said on Saturday.

The militant -- identified as Umar Yaqoob alias Tiger, son of Muhammad Yaqoob Beg, a resident of Jan Mohalla area of Shopian town - was newly recruited by the LeT, police said.

He was involved in attacks on policemen and incidents of weapon snatching, and was planning to carry out similar attacks in Shopian and Pulwama districts, police said.

The militant was arrested in a joint operation by police and 44 Rashtriya Rifles in Shopian.

A Chinese pistol with six rounds of ammunition was recovered from him, and a police case has been registered.

Police said he was recruited by Ayatullah Bhat alias Khumeni alias Abu Maaz and Waseem Ahmad Shah, both of the LeT.

He was involved in a recent grenade blast at Batpura Chowk in Shopian.

IANS
 
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Shopkeeper shot dead in Sopore - The Hindu
Updated: June 14, 2015 13:37 IST
This is the third such killing in Sopore town in the last seven days.
Suspected militants today shot dead a shopkeeper in Sopore, the third such killing within the span of a week in the north Kashmir town.

According to police, unidentified gunmen shot at and critically injured Mehrajuddin Dar, a poultry dealer, near his shop at Badamibagh in Sopore town, 52-km from here.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, they added.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

This is the third killing in Sopore town in the last seven days with security agencies saying that the acts are being carried out by a splinter group of Hizbul Mujahideen.

Suspected ultras shot dead a shopkeeper on Friday night while a government employee, who was an activist of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, was killed on Tuesday.
 
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Ex-militant shot dead in Sopore - The Hindu

Updated: June 15, 2015 10:04 IST
This is fourth targeted killing in the past seven days and the second since Sunday.
The terror of targeted killings continued in Sopore today as suspected militants shot dead a man in the fourth such attack in the north Kashmir town in the last seven days and the second since Sunday.

According to police, Aijaz Ahmad Reshi, a former militant, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his residence in the Mundji locality of Sopore town.

No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. This is fourth targeted killing in the past seven days.

Suspected gunmen of a Hizbul Mujahideen faction had yesterday killed a shopkeeper Sopore.

Mehraj-ud-din Bhat, who ran a poultry shop, was shot dead just outside his shop-cum-residence at Badamibagh, officials said.

Earlier, on Friday night, suspected ultras shot dead another shopkeeper while a government employee, who was an activist of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, was killed on Tuesday.
 
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Sopore killings handiwork of breakaway Hizbul faction: Police
Srinagar, June 16, 2015 (IANS)
A breakaway faction of the Hizbul Mujahideen separatist guerrilla group is responsible for the recent killings in north Kashmir's Sopore town, a police officer said on Tuesday.

"It is the same group that had tried to disrupt telecom operations in and around Sopore areas earlier," Deputy Inspector General of Police (North Kashmir) Gareeb Das told IANS.

"Lashkar-e-Islam is a split group of Hizbul Mujahideen and we have vital clues that the killings of former militants in Sopore have been carried out by this group."

He added: "These are reprisal killings."

The north Kashmir police chief said they were hot on the heels of those responsible for these killings.

He said the police has successfully neutralized the threat to telecom operations posed by the Lashkar-e-Islam and now it is proceeding to arrest and expose those behind recent killings of former militants in Sopore town.

With the killing of Aijay Ahmad Reshi by unidentified gunmen in Mundji area of Sopore town on Monday, the number of mysterious murders of former militants in the town has gone up to four.

Reshi was a former militant of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen group.
Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has given orders to the security forces to nab those responsible for the killings so that the fear among the people in Sopore town is removed.


Mysterious killings of former militants have brought senior separatist leaders close to each other after nearly 12 years.

Leaders of hardline Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani, moderate group headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) headed by Muhammad Yasin Malik and Democratic Freedom Party headed by Shabir Shah met inside Jamia Mosque in old city Srinagar late on Monday to express concern over the killings and chalk out a joint strategy.

These leaders have called a protest shutdown on Wednesday and a march to Sopore town on Friday.
 
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Updated: June 21, 2015 03:54 IST
Army guns down militant in Srinagar - The Hindu

The Army on Saturday claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid and killed a militant in the Sadran area in Machil sector near the Line of Control in north Kashmir.

According to the Army, a gunfight broke out in the morning after its personnel sighted a group of militants in Machil in Kupwara district, 150 km from Srinagar.

‘Major attempt foiled’

“Troops deployed on the LoC foiled a major attempt of infiltration by the terrorists, resulting in the elimination of one terrorist,” the Army said.

Six or seven militants, trying to cross the LoC, were engaged in firing in which one terrorist killed and the rest beat a retreat. No jawan was injured.
 
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Cop injured in firing in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir - The Hindu
Updated: June 29, 2015 11:18 IST
A policemen was injured when some unidentified gunmen fired upon him in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

Constable Jagdish Singh was injured when some unidentified gunmen fired upon him at Shahidi Chowk in the district around 9:20 a.m. on Monday, a police official said.

The injured cop was initially shifted to district hospital Kathua and later referred to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital at Jammu for specialised treatment, he said.

The gunmen managed to escape in a car with Punjab registration number, he said, adding the vehicle was later recovered from some distance.

Police has registered a case and launched a hunt to nab the culprits, he added.

 
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