Three soldiers were killed and two others injured in a militant attack on an army convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway in Saffron town Pampore of Pulwama district in South Kashmir on Saturday.Reliable sources told news agency CNS that three youth on a motorcycle appeared before an Army convoy on way to Srinagar from Jammu near Kadalbal Pampore and fired upon the Army vehicles indiscriminately. Some Army men retaliated while the exchange of fire continued for about 8 minutes during which the vehicular movement on the highway halted while the shopkeepers in the interiors downed their shutters.A police official said that five soldiers sustained bullet injuries out of which three later on succumbed.
“Three soldiers were killed and two have been undergoing treated in Army hospital,” he said adding that shortly after the incident some areas of the town were cordoned off and a combing operation was launched to flush out the militants.Witnesses said that as the Army started their search operation in Asthan Mohalla of Kadlabal, scores of youth took to streets and pelted stones on them. The government forces resorted to tear-smoke shelling to keep them at bay. An official said that militants managed to escape from the spot taking advantage of the public presence. “Army didn’t retaliate openly to avoid collateral damage,” he said.Locals said that they were directed to come out from their houses during the search operation. “Soldiers frisked everyone and checked their identity cards while houses were also thoroughly searched,” they said. (CNS)