Srinagar: Four policemen on patrol duty were killed on Saturday in an improvised explosive device blast by militants in a market in Sopore township, the first IED attack in Kashmir since 2015.

The four personnel belonging to Indian Reserve Police-3rd battalion were on duty in the township in north Kashmir, 50 kilometres from here, when the IED planted by militants in the market, which was shut due to a separatist sponsored strike, went off, police said.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant outfit has taken responsibility for the attack, but Kashmir’s police said it will have to verify that claim.

The slain personnel were identified as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Doda; Constable Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Rohama Rafiaabad area of Baramulla; Constable Parvaiz Ahmad, a resident of Vilgam, Handwara; and Constable Mohammad Amin, a resident of Sogam, Kupwara.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Munir Khan said the use of IEDs by militants had ended since 2015 and the security forces will have to chalk out a new strategy in the wake of the blast.

Denouncing the killings, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti urged the people to work shoulder to shoulder to break the “vortex of violence” in the state.

These young policemen were killed when they were on duty to protect the people in the town. It is highly unfortunate, Mufti said.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “Very sad news from #Sopore. May the four brave J&K police personnel killed in the line of duty today rest in peace.”

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief GA Mir condemned the killing and claimed the incident had exposed the “tall claims” of the Mehbooba government about the Kashmir situation being normal.

Giving details of the incident, ADGP Munir Khan told reporters that shops were closed and vehicles were off roads due to the strike in Sopore when the militants ambushed the police team. “Our normal law and order deployment reached the lane between ‘Chotta Bazaar’ and ‘Bada Bazaar’. There was an IED blast in which four of our boys were martyred,” said Khan, who was recently promoted as additional director general of police, but continues to hold the post of inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir.

“The IED was placed beneath the entrance of a shop. It was a big IED, there has been a huge crater because of it. Six or seven shops have suffered damage as well,” he said, adding, “it was the first (IED) blast since 2015. Its use had almost ended.”

He said the security forces will have to think about their next course of action. “We will put our heads together and chalk out some new strategies to tackle this thing,” he said.

The JeM, in a statement to a local news agency here, claimed responsibility for the attack.

But Khan said, “We will have to verify how authentic the statement is. A mere statement does not mean that only they have done it. We will have to see other aspects also.”

A wreath-laying ceremony was held at District Police Lines Sopore to pay homage to the slain personnel.

Khan led police officers and soldiers in paying floral tributes to the martyrs, a police spokesman said here.

The spokesman said ASI Irshad Ahmad is survived by his elderly mother, wife, two sons and two daughters.

Constable Mohammad Amin leaves behind an aged mother, wife, four-year-old son Tajam-ul-Islam, a brother and three sisters, while constable Parvaiz Ahmad is survived by an elderly father, wife, three-year-old son Mohammad Noman, an unmarried sister and three brothers, the spokesman said.

He said constable Ghulam Nabi has aged parents, pregnant wife, four-year-old daughter Faheeqa Nabi, two brothers and two unmarried sisters.</s>Militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed the responsibility for an IED blast in Sopore town of Baramulla district in which four policemen were killed and two others seriously injured. In a statement issued to news agency GNS, Jaish-e-Mohammad spokesperson claimed that they have attacked the forces party in Sopore. “The Shaheed Afzal Guru squad carried out the attack,” he said. The attack came on the day when Sopore is observing a complete shutdown to mark the death anniversary of 1993 massacre.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Munir Khan told Greater Kashmir that four policemen were killed in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast. The deceased have been identified as ASI Irshad Ahmad from Doda, Muhammad Amin from Kupwara and Ghulam Nabi from Sopore. The policemen were from the 3rd Battalion of Indian Reserve Police. According to reports, three shops were also damaged in the blast at Gole market in Sopore.

The injured were shifted to hospital and a search operation is underway, a police officer said. Militants had planted the bomb inside the market after sensing a heavy presence of forces. The IED went off when the policemen reached the scene while doing the rounds on Saturday morning. Condemning the incident, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said she was deeply pained by the deaths. “Pained to hear that four policemen have been killed in an IED explosion in Sopore. My deepest condolences to their families,” she tweeted.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah also tweeted and said: “Very sad news from #Sopore. May the four brave J&K police personnel killed in the line of duty today rest in peace.”

Earlier on Monday, three militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad had attacked a CRPF camp in Pulwama. Among the militants, one was the son of a policeman from Kashmir.</s>Four policemen were killed after militants detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in north Kashmir’s Sopore town on Saturday morning. This is the second major militant attack this new year and the first big IED explosion in a decade.

Though the Jaish-e-Mohammad has, in a statement to a local news agency, claimed responsibility for the Sopore attack, police say they are still investigating the case.

Police sources said the attack was pre-planned since militants had expected a huge deployment of forces in the town following a shutdown call given by separatists. On Saturday, Sopore town had been shut to protest against the 1993 killing of over 50 civilians, allegedly by paramilitary forces.

Personnel of the J&K police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had been deployed in large numbers across the town, especially in areas where stone-pelting was expected. The IED was detonated at Gole Market in Sopore’s main chowk. “Normally, there is heavy security deployment in that area to prevent stone pelting,” a police officer said. “They (militants) probably expected this and placed the IED there”.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Muneer Khan, who rushed to Sopore immediately after the explosion, said the IED was placed under a shop front and went off as soon as personnel of the Indian Reserve Police (IRP) reached there. “It was a powerful explosion,” he said. “There was a huge crater (at the spot) and six or seven shops were severely damaged”.

Though militants frequently used IEDs in the 1990s, they were rarely used in the last decade. While there have been occasional low-intensity IED blasts in the Valley in the last decade, including one in 2015, Saturday’s explosion was the first big one since July 2008, when militants targeted an Army convoy at Narbal on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. Ten soldiers had been killed and 18 injured in that blast 10 years ago.

ADGP Khan termed Saturday’s attack a new challenge for security agencies. “This is the first IED explosion since 2015,”he said. “We will have to think about it, how to deal with such a situation. We will put our heads together, chalk out some new strategy to tackle this thing”.

After a violent 2017, the Valley has had no respite in the new year. On January 1, a 37-hour gun fight between fidayeen and security forces had ended with five paramilitary personnel and three militants getting killed.

 Those killed in Saturday’s attack have been identified as 58-year-old Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Irshad Ahmad from Doda in Jammu, Constable Ghulam Nabi of Sopore, Constable Parvaiz Ahmad of Handwara and Constable Mohammad Amin of Kupwara.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App</s>At least four Indian policemen were killed and two others wounded on Saturday in a bomb attack in the disputed Jammu Kashmir region.

Militants carried out an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in a deserted market square in northern Sopore town at 10.30 a.m. local time (0500GMT) when the policemen were carrying out their routine patrol, police officials in the region said.

There were no civilian casualties in the blast as the market was closed to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1993 Sopore massacre in which 57 civilians were killed by the Indian armed forces.

According to reports in the local media, militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad claimed responsibility for the attack while speaking to the news agency GNS.

Mehbooba Mufti, chief minister of the Indian-administered region condemned the killings.

"Pained to hear that four policemen have been killed in an IED explosion in Sopore. My deepest condolences to their families," Mufti tweeted.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two over Kashmir.

Also in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.</s>Srinagar: Four policemen on patrol duty were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by militants went off in Sopore town in north Kashmir today, an official said.

Militants had planted the IED near a shop in a lane between the ‘Chotta Bazaar’ and ‘Bada Bazaar’ in Sopore in Baramulla district, the official said.

The policemen were patrolling the area in view of a separatist-sponsored strike there. (PTI)</s>SRINAGAR, INDIA (AFP) - Four policemen were killed on Saturday (Jan 6) in a bomb blast set off by suspected Islamist militants in Indian Kashmir, police and reports said, marking a deadly start to the new year in the restive valley.

They were on patrol when the improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Sopore, some 50 kilometres from the main city of Srinagar.

"IED blast in Sopore. Four policemen martyred," Jammu and Kashmir police said on Twitter.

The bomb was planted by militants near a shop amid a strike called by separatists, the Press Trust of India and other local media said.

The latest incident comes during a spike in violence in the disputed region, which is claimed in full by India and Pakistan.

Last week, four Indian soldiers were killed in an attack by armed militants who stormed a paramilitary camp outside Srinagar.

Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule over the subcontinent in 1947.

Since 1989, rebel groups have been fighting roughly half a million Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, seeking independence for the former Himalayan kingdom or its merger with neighbouring Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.

Last year, 206 suspected militants, 57 civilians and 78 Indian security forces personnel were killed, making it the deadliest year in a decade.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of sending militants across the disputed border in Kashmir to launch attacks on Indian forces.

Islamabad denies the allegations, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for the right to self-determination.</s>SRINAGAR, India – Four police were killed Saturday when rebels fighting against Indian rule in disputed Kashmir detonated a bomb on a street they were patrolling, police said.

Streets were deserted and shops and businesses closed when the massive blast struck the northwestern town of Sopore, hitting the police patrol. The town, famous for apple orchards, is observing a shutdown on the 25th anniversary of a massacre when government forces killed at least 47 people after a paramilitary soldier died in a rebel attack.

The strike was called by separatist leaders who challenge India’s sovereignty over Kashmir. The town was already on high alert with hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers patrolling the area in anticipation of anti-India protests and clashes.

Police said at least half a dozen shuttered shops suffered extensive damage in the blast that was remotely detonated.

The Jash-e-Mohammed militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the English-language Greater Kashmir newspaper.

Reinforcements of police and paramilitary soldiers rushed to seal off the area.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Rebel groups demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the region, and most people support the rebels’ cause against Indian rule while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown since 1989.</s>(Eds: With changes in para 2) Srinagar, Jan 6 (PTI) Four policemen on patrol duty were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by militants went off in Sopore town in north Kashmir today, an official said.

Militants had planted the IED near a shop in a lane between the 'Chotta Bazaar' and 'Bada Bazaar' in Sopore in Baramulla district, the official said.

The policemen were patrolling the area in view of a separatist-sponsored strike there. PTI SSB GVS GVS .

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.</s>Srinagar: Four policemen on patrol duty were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by militants went off in Sopore town in north Kashmir on Saturday, an official said.

Militants had planted the IED near a shop in a lane between the ‘Chotta Bazaar’ and ‘Bada Bazaar’ in Sopore in Baramulla district, the official said.

The policemen were patrolling the area in view of a separatist-sponsored strike there. This is the first major terror attack in the Valley in which security forces have suffered casualties.

Five CRPF men were killed on 31 December when heavily armed terrorists carried out a suicide attack on a camp of the paramilitary force in Pulwama in south Kashmir.</s>Four policemen lost their lives and two others were seriously injured after an IED blast set off by militants in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday morning. According to reports, three shops were also damaged in the blast at Gole market in Sopore. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Munir Khan told Greater Kashmir that four policemen were killed in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast. The deceased have been identified as ASI Irshad Ahmad from Doda, Muhammad Amin from Kupwara and Ghulam Nabi from Sopore. The policemen were from the 3rd Battalion of Indian Reserve Police.

According to sources, militants had planted the bomb inside the market after sensing a heavy presence of militants. The injured were shifted to hospital and a search operation is underway, a police officer said. So far no militant group has claimed the responsibility for the attack. Condemning the incident, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said she was deeply pained by the deaths. “Pained to hear that four policemen have been killed in an IED explosion in Sopore. My deepest condolences to their families,” she tweeted.

This is a breaking story. More details are awaited
An IED bombing kills four Indian Reserve policemen patrolling a deserted market in the upper northwestern city of Sopore, India. Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, claim responsibility for the attack.