Four soldiers injured in IED blast

Four soldiers injured in IED blast
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

SRINAGAR, AUG 24: Four army jawans were injured when militants detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) targetting an army convoy in North Kashmir today, defence sources said.

The IED, planted by militants in a hand-cart on a roadside, was set off with a remote control at Pothkhah-Sangrama, 43 kms from here on the Srinagar-Sopore Road, around 11 am today, the sources said.

The driver of an army vehicle, which was part of a convoy on its way to Sopore from Srinagar, lost control over the vehicle due to the deafening sound of the explosion. It collided with another vehicle, they said.

Four soldiers travelling in the vehicle suffered injuries due to flying splinters of the IED and subsequent collision, the sources said.

The injured were rushed to hospital, where two of them were discharged after first-aid. Two others were still undergoing treatment in the hospital and their condition was stated to be ``out of danger'', the sources said.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the blast, so far.

Meanwhile, seven militants were killed in encounters, four militant hideouts smashed and 50 kg RDX and a number of arms and ammunition seized in Jammu region since last night, an official spokesman said today.

Six unidentified militants were killed in an exchange of fire with state police personnel in Chandhok village of Poonch district, last night, the spokesman said.

One Lashkar-E-Toiba (LeT) militant was shot dead in an encounter with army personnel near the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghatti area of Poonch.

The militant has been identified as Abu Hilal, hailing from Afghanistan, the sources said.

Army and police personnel smashed four LeT hideouts in Kasbalari village of Rajouri district during the period and seized 50 kgs of RDX and a number of arms and explosives, the sources said.

Five sealed boxes of AK ammunition, two solar missiles, two HE missiles, two smoke-bombs, 40 RPGs, 24 rocket-boosters and six AK-rifles were among the seizures, the sources said.