Twin attack in Srinagar, 2 killed

The attack was close to J&K assembly and in a high security zone
Hardnews Bureau

Twin attacks rocked Srinagar on Monday killing two CRPF jawans and injuring 12 others. The attack was brazen as it occurred close to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly which was in recess after the morning session.
Around 1 pm, militants struck one after another at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar and Batmaloo. They were carrying guns and grenades.

The CRPF jawans, Raj Shekhar and Malik Arjun, were killed when the militants shot them in their heads from point blank range.

Even as chaos broke out at Lal Chowk, they attacked yet again at Batmaloo. Here, they hurled a grenade at a CRPF vehicle outside the Fire and Emergency Services headquarters. Around 12 persons including four security personnel were injured in the incident. The condition of two civilians are said to be critical.

According to reports, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM) claimed responsibility for the Lal Chowk attack. However, the outfit claimed it was not involved in the attack at Batmaloo.

Earlier, on August 1, twin attacks by terrorists near Lal Chowk had killed two security personnel.

On August 24, seven paramilitary CRPF personnel were injured when militants attacked a local hotel at Dal gate in Srinagar. A senior police officer said that militants lobbed a hand grenade which exploded inside the hotel, where the CRPF's 162nd battalion was headquartered.

Analysts say that this Lal Chowk has become an easy target area as it is centrally located and is one of the busiest pats of Srinagar. Even high security doesn't seem to deter the terrorists. Rather, Lal Chowk is chosen as a target as it assures high publicity in the media.