An army soldier lost his life during a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday, 18 June – taking the death toll of security personnel to 10 in less than a week.
The fresh attacks across the Kashmir valley triggered a greater concern over security as the annual Amarnath Yatra to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas is set to begin from 1 July.
The 46-day pilgrimage is scheduled to start from two routes, one of which passes through Anantnag.
- On 18 June, an army officer lost his life while two terrorists, including the owner of the explosive-laden vehicle used in February’s Pulwama terror attack, were killed in the Waghama area of Anantnag.
- Nearly 13 km away from Waghama, on 12 June, motorcycle-borne militants gunned down six security personnel including five CRPF troopers and a state police inspector near Khanbal Pahalgam (KP) road.
- An army major identified as Ketan Sharma was killed in Anantnag's Bidoora village on 17 June. On the same day, two security personnel succumbed to injuries after an IED blast in Pulwama's Arihal area.
‘Elaborate Security Arrangements Have Been Put in Place’
Following the attack on 17 June, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Sanjeev Verma told Greater Kashmir that elaborate security arrangements have been put in place for smooth conduct of Amarnath Yatra.
Speaking on security concerns in Anantnag, Verma further said "paramilitary forces have been deployed in adequate strength."
Meanwhile, when asked by news agency ANI, about the terror attacks in Kashmir in the last seven days, Defence Minister Rajnat Singh did not offer to comment.
Singh who was leaving parliament after Tuesday's session, stated that it was not the "right time to discuss the matter."
(With inputs from Greater Kashmir)
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