Three jawans injured in Shopian explosion

Srinagar, June 2

Three soldiers were injured, one of them critically, in a blast in Shopian district today. The blast took place inside their “hired” vehicle at Sadow village, the police said.

The Army said that at around 3 am, based on specific intelligence input, a counter-insurgency operation was launched in Patitohalan in Shopian. “While moving towards the target area, about a kilometre from Sedow, an explosion took place in a private hired vehicle being used by the team, resulting in injuries to three soldiers,” said defence spokesperson Colonnel Emran Mosavi.

Mosavi said the blast was very likely to be from an IED, a grenade or a battery malfunctioning in the vehicle. The nature of the blast is being investigated, Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar said.

The injured personnel were shifted to Shopian’s district hospital, and thereafter evacuated to 92 Base hospital in Srinagar. “One soldier is critical while two others are stable,” he said. The affected area has been cordoned and all likely escape routes have been sealed. Search to nab the terrorists is in progress.