Delhi/Srinagar:
Terrorists who posed as cricketers to enter a paramilitary camp in Srinagar and opened fire, killing five jawans, were most likely Pakistani, said Home Secretary RK Singh. Two terrorists were killed; Mr Singh said another pair may have escaped.
Pakistan has rejected the accusation. "This trend of making irresponsible statements and knee-jerk reactions by senior Indian government functionaries has the potential of undermining the efforts made by both sides to normalise relations between the two countries," Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement. (
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Children were playing cricket in a large open field this morning at the Central Reserve Police Force camp when militants carrying bags that looked like cricket kits joined them. Then, in the middle of the field, without any cover, they pulled out automatic rifles from their sports bags and opened fire.
Officers say the terrorists were strapped with grenades, many of which they lobbed at security personnel present there.
"We had guns, but we were standing in a civilian area - it had policemen's apartments. So, we fired at them in a controlled manner," said Akhtar Aadam, a CRPF jawan who was injured in the attack.
Four civilians and eight CRPF jawans were injured in the attack; none are in critical condition. But a 22-year-old protester was killed when security forces allegedly opened fire on a mob who hurled stones at their vehicle as it was returning from the hospital where those injured were being treated. Curfew has been imposed in the city.
The Kashmir-based militant group Hizbul Mujahideen phoned a local news agency and said it was behind this morning's ambush, a claim intelligence officials aren't really buying, said sources.
Kashmir has been tense since the execution in February of Afzal Guru, who belonged to Sopore near Srinagar for his role in the deadly 2001 attack on Parliament in which 13 people were killed.
He was hanged and buried at Tihar Jail in a top-secret operation, triggering large protests in his home state. The government has refused to return his body to his family.