Four policemen were killed and four service rifles were snatched on Tuesday when a group of militants attacked a security picket in south Kashmir’s Shopian.
“Militants in the afternoon fired upon the guard post deployed at Shopian’s Zainapora,” said a Srinagar-based police spokesman. “The militants fired indiscriminately as they approached the post. Three policemen manning the picket died on the spot and the fourth injured policeman died later in a hospital.”
The Zainapora area houses a ‘minority’ colony and is guarded round the clock.
Breaks lull
The shooting at the picket is the first major attack in the past more than one month and breaks a lull that had been created by the security forces’ ongoing offensive against militant outfits in south Kashmir. The stepped up operations in November, which left 37 militants dead, had deterred attacks on the security forces.
Authorities identified the deceased policemen as Abdul Majeed Ganaie, Mehraj-ud-din Dar, Anees Ahmad Mir and Hameed-ul-lah Ganaie, all locals.
In a statement issued in Srinagar to local news agencies, the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
“I strongly condemn the attack on the police post in Shopian and condole the deaths of police personnel in the line of duty,” said National Conference vice president and former chief minister 
Omar Abdullah. “I pray for their souls.”
Condemning the attack, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said, “It bears repetition, violence achieves nothing but destruction. I express my solidarity with the families of jawans. I am relieved that no harm was caused to any civilians in the minority pocket they guarded.”