Militants open fire at BSF vehicle, 2 troopers killed, 4 injured

Two Border Security Force personnel were killed while four others injured when militants opened fired at their vehicle just outside the Awantipora IAF airfield in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. Officials said a squad of BSF personnel was changing guard at the airfield in Pulwama, 33 kms from Srinagar, on Saturday afternoon when a group of militants opened fire at them from automatic weapons.

The BSF is deployed for securing the Indian Air Force airfield and the squad that came under militant attack belongs to the 'G' company of BSF's 165th battalion. "The militants opened fire at the BSF squad that was in a military gypsy. Two personnel were killed and four have been injured in the firing," a senior official said.

Immediately after the firing, the other BSF personnel present on the spot retaliated but the militants fled. A reinforcement contingent of the Rashtriya Rifles and the BSF has reached the area for search and sanitisation task, they said.

The injured have been shifted to an army base hospital in the vicinity of the airfield located, they said. A police spokesman said militants opened fire on the BSF vehicle at Kuil.

ASI R Yadav and Head Constable S Yadav succumbed to injuries. The other injured personnel have been identified as Head Constable Jai Prasad, Constables Amar Bahadur, P Singh and Vinod Kumar, he said.

The militants, after carrying out the attack, fled in to the nearby orchards, the police said. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. This is the fourth attack on security forces -- second on BSF personnel -- since August 11. Six persons including five security personnel have been killed and several injured in the violence.

On August 11, militants attacked a BSF convoy at Pampore injuring eight personnel. The next day militants shot dead constable of Railway protection force. On Thursday, militants attacked a police vehicle at Gallander in Pampore, resulting in death of two policemen and one civilian.

A police spokesman said militants opened fire on the BSF vehicle at Kuil. ASI R Yadav and Head Constable S Yadav succumbed to injuries. The other injured personnel have been identified as head constable Jai Prasad, Constables Amar Bahadur, P Singh and Vinod Kumar, he said.

The militants, after carrying out the attack, fled in to the nearby orchards, the police said. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. This is the fourth attack on security forces -- second on BSF personnel -- since August 11. Six persons including five security personnel have been killed and several injured in the violence.

On August 11, militants attacked a BSF convoy at Pampore injuring eight personnel. The next day militants shot dead constable of Railway protection force. On Thursday, militants attacked a police vehicle at Gallander in Pampore, resulting in death of two policemen and one civilian.

Image: Security personnel cordon off the site after the attack. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com