Srinagar: Seven security personnel, including an Army Major, and a block president of ruling People's Democratic Party, were among 15 people killed and 40 injured on April 25 as militants stepped up their attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.

The escalated violence saw the first suicide attack of the year in the state, which made a vain attempt to target a sector headquarters of Border Security Force (BSF), ambush on an Army patrol and a blast inside a court in Baramulla district of North Kashmir, which witnessed the maximum number of militancy-related incidents.

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Three suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants attempted to storm BSF camp in Bandipore, triggering a gun-battle that killed three security personnel, a civilian and two ultras.

Three members of the suicide squad approached the sector headquarters at Bagh-Bandipora, from the rear side around 09.45 hours hurling grenades and opening fire on the troops working in a garage, a BSF spokesman said.

The ultras then moved towards the main gate, hardly 50 yards from the rear side, and tried to force their entry. However, their attempt was foiled by the alert sentry who engaged them in a gunfight and shot two of them dead while the third escaped.

Six BSF personnel were also seriously injured in the encounter.

PTI