CRPF checkpoint attacked in Kashmir's Kulgam; three jawans injured

Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured when terrorists opened fire on a CRPF checkpoint near Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district at around 2.15 pm on Wednesday (11 November), officials said. The attackers escaped, and the area has been cordoned off for a search operation. The checkpoint was manned by personnel of the force's 46th Battalion, The New Indian Express reported.

One of the injured, who was shot in the abdomen, is in critical condition. The other two suffered non-life-threatening injuries, one a bullet graze on the arm and the other a wound to the foot, Hindustan Times and PTI reported. They were first taken to a hospital in Anantnag district and later shifted to the Army's 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar, according to The Indian Express, which said the most seriously hurt jawan had wounds to the abdomen and spine and was undergoing surgery.

“There has been firing on CRPF Naka at Kulgam, Kashmir. Three personnel injured. Operations going on to nab the perpetrators and give the best possible treatment to the injured,” the CRPF said in a statement, Hindustan Times reported. Reinforcements and armoured vehicles were rushed in, and residents were told over loudspeakers to stay indoors.

Accounts of how the attackers arrived differ. PTI and Hindustan Times reported that they were on a motorcycle. The Indian Express, citing officials, reported that they approached the checkpoint on foot from a marshy patch about 50 metres away, fired with AK-47 rifles and fled through the same tree line. The Hindu said security agencies were still checking whether the attackers used a motorcycle or another vehicle.

A J&K Police officer told The Indian Express that the preliminary investigation showed at least three terrorists were involved and that two of them seem to be foreign nationals. Sources told the paper that investigators are looking at a possible Lashkar-e-Taiba module in south Kashmir and are questioning at least three suspected overground workers. None of this has been officially confirmed, and no group has claimed the attack.

The attack came on a day Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was in Kulgam to inaugurate the Veshow Festival, about 16 km from the site, according to The Indian Express. Officials said he was not near the spot. In the evening, the Lt Governor visited the injured jawan in Srinagar, called the attack a cowardly act of terror and said security forces have been given a free hand, The Hindu reported. The Indian Express described it as the third terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since July and the second to target security personnel, after a policeman was shot dead in Anantnag on 22 July.