Soldier Killed, 8 Injured In Terror Attack In Zakura Near Srinagar

Srinagar: One jawan of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was killed and eight others injured in a "hit-and-run" attack in Zakura on the outskirts of Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar on Friday evening.

The gunmen escaped after firing at a convoy of the paramilitary force.

The area has been cordoned off and additional troops have been sent to the spot. A search operation has been launched.

Three of the injured, including a local policeman, are critical, sources said.

Zakura, an industrial area that houses many offices and factories of small businesses, is around 12 km away from Srinagar's city centre Lal Chowk.

"At around 7:30 pm, three of our companies were returning after their duty. It was a convoy of six vehicles. Two to three men came out of an alley and fired on one of the vehicles and ran away," Deepak Kumar, a senior SSB official, said.

After India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control on September 29, security forces in the Kashmir Valley have confronted large attacks by Pakistani terrorists.

Earlier this week, two members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba or LeT were killed, three days after they attacked a government compound in Pampore, 15 km from Srinagar.

The Lashkar operatives hid in the institute and threw grenades in the lengthy assault.

Attacks on security forces have increased since the killing of 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, a terrorist with a large following, in July this year.

In the unrest that followed, more than 90 people have been killed and over 10,000 injured in clashes with security forces.

Schools and businesses have been closed across Kashmir for the last three months amid a curfew ordered by the administration and shutdown called by separatists, crippling everyday life.