Cop, Brother Killed In J&K As Terrorist Attacks Spike In Central Kashmir

A terrorist attack on a family of policemen in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam has left two brothers dead, officials said today.

On Saturday evening, terrorists forced their way into the police family's Budgam home, resorting to heavy firing that killed Special Police Officer (SPO) Ishfaq Ahmad Dar and critically injured his brother, Umar Ahmad.

Umar Ahmad died in the hospital this morning.

Thousands attend the last rites of two brothers in Budgam's Chadbug village today, with many seen mourning the police officer and his brother.

As people gathered for funeral prayers, one of the family members announced that they will be leaving the village following the deaths of the two brothers. The family has three people serving in the police force.

This incident is the latest in a series of targeted terrorist attacks in the Kashmir Valley this month. Earlier in March, three Panchayat members were killed in separate attacks in the Valley, while just this past Tuesday, a policeman was killed in a terrorist attack on a police patrol in Srinagar.

The attack on the police family is the third terrorist incident to take place in the Budgam district this month, as the central Kashmir district, which has largely remained free of terrorism, witnesses a spate of attacks. This includes the recent kidnapping and killing of an army soldier in Budgam at the hands of terrorists.