Station House Officer (SHO) of Achabal police station was among the six police men who were killed in a deadly attack carried out at Achabal in South Kashmir area of Anantang district.

According to police sources the SHO was identified as Feroze Ahmad Dar. Police said that the SHO and his escort party were returning back to the police station from a nearby village when they were attacked by a group of heavily armed militants.

During the firing between the militants and policemen, SHO was killed and five other personnel in his escort also lost their lives. The identity of the policemen was ascertained as Feroz Ahmed Dar  s/o Abdul Raheem Dar R/o Dogripora ,Teh Awantipora, Pulwama, Ct Shariq Ahmed,  Ct Tasveer Ahmed, Ct Sharaz Ahmed, Mohammed Asif SPO R/o Shangas Ananatnag and Sabzar Ahmed SPO  R/o Adsoo Shangas Ananatnag.

Sources said that at least a group of 10 militants were waiting in the ambush and fired upon the police personnel as they moved through the area and fired upon them in which they lost their lives. After the incident militants managed to flee from the spot, but sources said that the combing operation has been launched in the area by security force personnel.

The militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba has claimed the responsibility for the attack. However, senior police officials said that the investigation in the case was going on. “The police party was returning back to the police station from the investigation in the case when they were attacked by the militants,’’ said a senior police official.

The incidents of militancy have stepped up in South Kashmir as the forces have engaged the militants in many gun battles in the recent past. A police official said that 4 rifles were taken away by the militants from the slain policemen. Police have declared an alert after the series of militant attacks in Kashmir and the patrolling has been intensified.

LeT spokesperson Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi in a statement to a local news agency claimed that six policemen were killed in the attack carried out by outfit militants at Tajwah Achabal area of South Kashmir’s Anantang district.

Two civilians are also reported to have been injured during the attack and both of them were hospitalized. As per reports  militants ambushed the police vehicle after lobbing a grenade and then resorted to indiscriminate firing.

The militants have carried out a series of attacks in the valley since the past few days and at least 8 police have died while more than 15 security personnel of CRPF, state Police and army were wounded.

The gunmen also looted four automatic weapons from police guards of a retired judge earlier as the two police personnel who were guarding the house of a retired judge in Anchidora area of  Anantnag were also injured and militants decamped with four weapons.

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