Suspected militant killed in landmine blast

Srinagar, Jun 19 (PTI) A suspected militant died and two
of his associates were critically injured when a landmine
prematurely went off near the University of Kashmir, in
India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir where
Vice-President Hamid Ansari is to attend a ceremony Saturday,
police said Friday.

Firdous Ali Dar was blown into pieces, while two of his
accomplices-- Riyaz Ahmad Bhat and Ghulam Mohammad Ganai--
were critically wounded when the landmine exploded Thursday
night inside a house near the university at Lal Bazar here,
they said, adding the injured were rushed to a nearby
hospital.

While Dar, was a resident of Warfu-Alestang area of
Hazratbal, Bhat and Ganai were identified as the residents of
Ontabhavan locality of the city.

Preliminary investigations revealed that both Dar and
Ganai were Pakistan-trained militants of Hizbul Mujahideen,
they added.

According to official sources, although the target of
the landmine was not clear, the identity card recovered from
the deceased showed him as an employee of the University of
Kashmir sparking speculation that the militants might have
planned to strike during Thursday's convocation ceremony, in
which Ansari is scheduled to deliver a speech.

However, the police said that they were verifying the
authenticity of the identity card.

They added that an A-K assault rifle, three magazines,
100 rounds of ammunition, three grenades, a land mine, a
mobile set and some burnt currency notes were recovered from
the spot. PTI AMS
AM
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