Militants gun down 2 CRPF jawans in J&K

SRINAGAR: Militants struck in a big way on the last day of campaigning for the seventh phase of polls in Jammu and Kashmir, killing two CRPF jawans in broad daylight in the apple rich town of Sopore.

Police said unidentified militants surfaced in the busy Iqbal Market area near General Bus Stand, Sopore, in Baramulla district, on Monday afternoon and began firing at the jawans of 179 Battalion from close range.

As the jawans lay dead in a pool of blood, the ultras disappeared with their weapons in the township’s narrow lanes.

Senior superintendent of police Anand Jain said, “We have cordoned off the area and a search is on for the ultras.”

Meanwhile, police achieved a major breakthrough when they arrested HuJi chief
commander Suhail Faisal from Jammu Railway Station on Sunday night. A resident
of Kashtiwar district in Jammu, he is accused of involvement in several killings, fidayeen attacks and the blasts in Uttar Pradesh.

Deputy inspector-general  Abdul Qayyum Manhas said Faisal was wanted for a long time. “He was a close associate of slain HuJI chief Saba. He had gone to Pakistan in 2000 for arms training but surrendered in 2007. He later rejoined militancy and became
chief of HuJI.”