Four Killed, Three Injured As Militants Open Fire In J&K’s Sopore Town

Two civilians and two policemen were killed and three others wounded in a militant attack on a police party at Armpora area of Sopore, around 55 km, north of Srinagar on Saturday afternoon.

Police sources say at around 12:30 pm, the militants throw a grenade towards the police party killing two civilians and two police personnel. Three others including a cop were wounded in the attack and have been moved to Srinagar for treatment. 

The grenade explosion and subsequent gunshots created fear and people started running for their life. Sources said the two cops and two civilians were brought dead to the sub-district hospital Sopore. After the attack, the army, police, and security forces have cordoned off the area and started search operation in the area.

Political leaders condemned the attack.  “When will this madness end. Gun came to Kashmir in 1989. 32 years down the line. I can unambiguously state that gun enslaves the very people that it purports to fight for. The gunmen really need to ponder whose war they r fighting,” tweeted Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone.

“Such attacks must be condemned without reservation,” former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said. National Conference said it unequivocally condemns the killing of the cops and the civilians in Sopore. “Government must ensure a stop to such brutal loss of lives,” the NC spokesman added.

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the attack saying it will not resolve Kashmir. She said the gun is no solution to the Kashmir problem. “Neither Delhi’s gun nor the gun taken by local youth here will resolve Kashmir,” she added. She said such attacks only defame Kashmiris and they are being labeled as terrorists.  “I think the dialogue is the solution to every problem,” she added.

Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari condemned the Sopore attack saying “the attack most gruesome and heart wrenching.” “Violence has never been a solution but a huge impediment in peace and progress of any society. Extremist forces are only adding to the suffering of people. Regardless of any political, ideological or religious motivations—violence in any of its manifestations is unacceptable,” Bukhari said.

He said that the senseless violence has ravaged all the sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir inflicting a heavy toll on precious human lives. “Not only a generation of humans have been lost to this barbaric mode of communication but forces inimical to peace have also wreaked havoc to the socio-economic conditions of the people during the last over three decades,” he added.