Toll rises to seven in attack in IOK

SRINAGAR: The death toll from a fighters’ attack in the occupied Kashmir rose to seven on Sunday, as security forces fought to flush attackers out of a building they had stormed.

The fighters had attacked a bus carrying police reservists near Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, before breaking into a training institute. More than 100 people were inside at the time, including people on a course. Two reservists and one civilian were killed in Saturday’s attack and operation to evacuate the institute. Three elite soldiers died on Sunday as they fought to eliminate the attackers. 

“We have killed one militant,” Bhavish Choudhary, a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), said on Sunday evening. “The operation is ongoing.” There were repeated blasts at the scene and television news pictures showed smoke billowing from the roof of the five-storey training centre.