Srinagar: In the first major suicide attack after the new government assumed power in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants on November 22 stormed a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) camp in the heart of the city, triggering a fierce gun battle which left six jawans and two heavily-armed ultras killed.

Piercing the security cordon around the camp located in a multi-storeyed hotel at regal chowk, LeT 'fidayeen' (suicide squads) appeared from two sides around 06:45 hours and lobbed grenades and opened indiscriminate fire killing two jawans instantly and wounding 13 others. Of the injured, four later succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.

However, the militants failed to sneak inside the main building, where nearly 200 CRPF personnel were stationed, and were restricted to the compound by the jawans who reacted swiftly to the attack.

This was the second major militant strike in the state since the People's Democratic Party (PDP)-led coalition government took charge on November 2. Earlier, seven CRPF personnel were killed and six others injured when Hizbul Mujahideen militants blasted a CRPF vehicle with an improvised explosive device at Ramsoo on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on November 11.

PTI