Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 10

 

A soldier was injured on Monday in a gunfight that erupted after suspected Jaish-e-Mohmmad militants opened fire on security forces from a government building in Sempora area of Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar, the police said.

Two to three militants were trapped inside the seven-floor hostel building of Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) located on the banks of the Jhelum River, some 12 km from the Srinagar city centre, police officials here said.

Security forces have laid a cordon around the EDI complex after fires were shot from inside one of its multi-storey building and a fierce encounter is under way, they said.

A soldier was hit by a bullet and has been evacuated to a nearby hospital, a police officer said.

The militants launched the “fidayeen” attack early morning today.

The incident came to light when the top floor of the building caught fire and the fire tenders rushing towards the location were fired upon from inside the building, a police official said.

The militants later also fired at the police, the official said.

The militants are believed to have taken position in the rear building of the EDI complex, which served as a hostel and temporarily housed its office.

The EDI complex was the site of a major “fidayeen” attack earlier this year, which had continued for three days.

The institute, situated on the strategic arterial road connecting Jammu and Srinagar, has three buildings — a guest house, a hostel complex and the main office building — on a 3.5-acre land on the Jhelum. With IANS inputs