The DPS school staff and students had left before the terrorists entered the campus.
Highlights
- 2 terrorists killed in 14-hour operation, 2 army personnel injured
- Terrorists entered school building last evening after attacking CRPF team
- A sub-inspector was killed, 2 CRPF personnel were injured in the attack
After a 14-hour gunbattle that started before dawn, two terrorists, who had holed up at a school in Srinagar, were killed. Two Army personnel have been injured in the encounter, their condition is stable, authorities said. Though the bodies of the two terrorists have been recovered, the sanitisation operation is still on, officials said. A large amount of arms and ammunition has been recovered.
The terrorists had managed to enter the campus of the Delhi Public School, located on the outskirts of Srinagar, last evening.
They were escaping after carrying out an attack on the personnel of the 29th Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force at Pantha Chowk - a high-security zone located less than a kilometre from the headquarters of Army's Chinar Corps. A sub-inspector was killed and two CRPF personnel were injured in the attack.
The school was empty at the time - the students and staff had already left. Security forces immediately cordoned off the sprawling campus, which has seven buildings.
The operation to flush out the terrorists was launched this morning, a police officer said. The exchange of fire between security forces and militants began at first light- The police said in the evening the gun-battle is over and two militants have been killed.
Jammu and Kashmir's Director General of Police SP Vaid said the operation took time as the security forces wanted to ensure "minimum collateral damage".
"We want to ensure that the (school) building is safe, because the enemy has a nefarious design that the school buildings are destroyed and children have to ultimately abandon their studies. We will ensure that no such thing happens," Mr Vaid said.
On Saturday, authorities had imposed ban on large gatherings on the stretch between Ram Munshibagh and Sempora of the national highway.
Mobile internet services were suspended in the Valley to prevent the spread of rumours. The speed of landline broadband connections has also been brought down.