Anantnag: Five labourers hailing from West Bengal were killed while another was injured when unknown gunmen opened fire at them in Katrasoo area of Kulgam district on Tuesday evening, police said.
The slain were identified as Nayeemudin Sheikh, Mursaleen Sheikh, Qamarudin, Mohammad Rafiq and Rafiq-ul-Sheikh.
The injured labourer has been identified as Zahoor-ud-Din. He was said to be critical and rushed to Srinagar for specialised treatment.
The labourers hailing from Murshidabad in West Bengal were putting up at a rented accommodation when they were targeted.
A police spokesperson on Twitter confirming the killing blamed militants for the attack. “In Kulgam, terrorists have killed five civilians. Police is on spot. Information is preliminary in nature.”
The attack happened on a day a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union is visiting Kashmir.
Since the GoI decision on Article 370, unidentified gunmen, suspected to be militants, have been targeting truckers and labourers, mainly who have come to the Valley from outside Kashmir.
On Monday, a trucker from Udhampur district was killed by militants in Anantnag, police said. He was the fifth truck driver to be killed by gunmen this month.

Suhail A Shah