6 Armymen killed in Udhampur blast

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, SEPT. 9. Six Army personnel were killed and another injured in yet another devastating landmine blast in the Udhampur district today. A seven-year old girl, five militants and two soldiers were killed in other militancy-related incidents.

Police sources in Udhampur said that militants detonated the landmine at Mahore, near Angrala, when the vehicle in which the Armymen were travelling was passing through.

The blast was so powerful that the vehicle was completely damaged and thrown into a deep gorge nearby. Six Armymen died on the spot and another was injured, the sources said. The injured soldier was later airlifted to Udhampur for treatment.

The blast took place around 8 km. from Sangaldan where a similar blast on Saturday claimed the lives of six BSF men, including a Commandant.

A massive combing operation has been launched by security forces to nab the militants responsible for the blast. Reports said that militants had sneaked into the area in large numbers and the security forces were on the defensive.

Civilians die

Two civilians were killed and 15 injured in Kupwara town this evening. Police sources said that militants hurled a grenade towards a BSF patrol.

The BSF retaliated and in the crossfire, Mr. Khurshid Ahmed Tantray and Mohammad Ramzan were killed. Fifteen other injured were admitted to hospital; later four of the seriously injured were shifted to Srinagar.

Even as the police said in Srinagar that Mr. Khurshid Ahmed was a militant and was killed in an encounter, officials in Kupwara said he was a civilian from Rohama Rafiabad. The grenade explosion damaged 13 shops, reports said.

Late in the evening, an improvised explosive device fitted in a bicycle went off near a BSF vehicle in the Bemina locality here. It exploded with a big bang, injuring four BSF jawans and six civilians.

The condition of two BSF men and two civilians is reported to be critical. A number shops were also damaged in the explosion.

In an encounter at Super Naghama in Handwara, a jawan and two militants were killed, police said. Two militants of the Lashkar- e-Taiba were killed in an encounter with security forces in the central district of Badgam.

According to a police spokesman, a jawan and a militant were killed in a fierce gunbattle in Larnu Kupwara.

Rocket kills girl

A seven-year old girl, Choti, was killed when militants fired a rocket towards security forces at Rampura in Kupwara on Saturday. The rocket missed its target and hit a house. The girl, who was inside the house, died on the spot.

Seven Army personnel were also injured in the attack and the condition of some is stated to be critical. People have protested against the killing of the child.

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